SC collegium finalises Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges: Report

Source:- dnaindia.com

The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointment of judges to constitutional courts, an issue which had been a bone of contention between the apex court and the government has now been finalised, reported the Times of India.

The report said that the apex court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) JS Khehar agreed to the contentious national security clause that the Centre had insisted upon.

It is one of the criteria for determining the eligibility of judges for appointment to the apex court and high courts.

The collegium has also dropped its reservation about setting up secretariats in the SC and each high court to maintain databases on judges and assist the collegiums in the SC and the high courts in selection of judges, the report said.

The Memorandum of procedure (MoP) is likely to be sent to the government for approval and adoption.

In January, the CJI Justice Khehar had underlined the need for appointment of judges in the Supreme court and said that the vacancies were affecting the efficiency of courts.

Following which, last month, five new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court, taking it working strength to 28. Though it has a sanctioned strength of 31, the top court was earlier working with only 23 judges.

Chief Justice of India JS Khehar, Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose and Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant are retiring from the Supreme Court this year.

Earlier, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said any pendency in appointments cannot be laid at the door of the government because the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges had been sent to the judiciary.