Chief Justice of the country D.Y. Chandrachud on Saturday defended the collegium system of appointing judges, saying no system is perfect, but it is the best system available to us. The collegium system has been a major bone of contention between the central government and the judiciary.
Speaking at the India Today Conclave-2023, the Chief Justice said that if the judiciary has to remain independent, it has to be protected from outside influences.
Justice Chandrachud said, “Every system is not perfect, but this is the best system that we have developed. But the objective is to secure the independence of the judiciary, which has a core value. If the judiciary is to be independent, we have to keep the judiciary away from outside influences.’
The Chief Justice said, “What is wrong in having a difference of opinion? But, I have to deal with different perceptions in the spirit of a strong constitutional vanguard. I don’t want to engage with the Law Minister on these issues, we are bound to have different views.”
Rijiju has been quite vocal against the collegium system and has once called it “beyond the Constitution”.
Justice Chandrachud said that there is no pressure on him from the government on how to decide the cases.
The Chief Justice said, “I have been a judge for 23 years, but no one has ever told me how to decide a case. There was no pressure from the government here. The decision of the Election Commission is proof that there is no pressure on the judiciary.
The Supreme Court had recently ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners would be made by the President on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
