Supreme Court questions feasibility of all-India judicial service

Source:- timesofindia.indiatimes.com

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court questioned the feasibility of the All India Judicial Services on Monday, saying how could the power of high courts to appoint judicial officers in trial courts be taken away.

A bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justice N V Ramana said the high court is a top court of a state and does not work under the control of the SC and the Centre and that it may not be feasible to take away its powers to appoint judges in the state. “In our federal structure, the HC is the highest court of a state and it is not under the control of Centre or SC. It we go for All India Judicial Services, it may affect the powers of HCs,” the bench said while hearing a bunch of petitions related to appointment of judges. The petitioners had contended that AIJS should be formed to bring uniformity in the appointment process.

The court’s observation assumes significance as the Narendra Modi government has recently decided to revive a proposal to constitute an AIJS for appointment of district judges through a rigorous examination process to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, similar to the talent hunt for recruitment of officers for the elite civil services.

There are at least 4,400 judges’ positions vacant in subordinate judiciary, which includes posts of district judges. The creation of AIJS was first proposed in 1960. The chief justices’ conferences held in 1961, 1963 and 1965 had favoured creation of AIJS but the proposal had to be shelved after some states and HCs opposed it, according to a consultation paper prepared in 2001 as part of the National Commission to Review the Working of Constitution.

The government, however, sought dismissal of petitions on judicial reforms, including appointments of judges in HCs and the SC, saying there should not be parallel proceedings when the matter is being dealt in the administrative side. The bench, however, said the matter could not be disposed of all of a sudden as the issue was being examined by the apex court and notice was issued.