What are the powers of the Centre in appointing judges to the higher judiciary

The rules of appointment under the Indian Constitution says that judges to the High Courts should be done in a timely manner, every time a vacancy arises

New Delhi, Jan 20: There has been a war of words between the government and Supreme Court over the appointment of judges.

The government had recently written to the Supreme Court to include a representative of its in the Collegium the body of judges which finalises the names of Supreme Court judges.

While the Collegium of the Supreme Court and High Courts suggest the names of judges to be elevated or appointed, the government too has a role to play in this process.

The ongoing controversy began after the Government of India returned 10 names that were recommended for elevation by the SC Collegium.

The role of the government:

The Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) says that the rulebook to make appointments to the higher judiciary says that the process to appoint judges to a High Court is initiated by the Collegium of a particular HC. The Collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of the HC and comprises two members who are the senior most judges.

Once the names are decided on, a list of suitable candidates is then forwarded to the Central Government as well as the Collegium of the Supreme Court. The SC Collegium cannot take a call on this immediately until it receives files from the government. The government takes inputs from the Intelligence Bureau which does a background check of the proposed names.

Once these files are sent to the SC Collegium, the body calls for an opinion from the consultee judge who is a serving judge of the Supreme Court. The consultee judge is one who has hails from the particular state from where the name has been recommended or the one who has earlier worked in the HC for which the recommendations are made.

The notification by the Centre for the appointment is issued after the inputs from the SC Collegium and the consultee judge.

Can the Government seek reconsideration:

The MoP says the the government can seek reconsideration of the proposed names and the send the files back to the SC Collegium. However as per the set of guidelines, the government is bound to appoint that person as a judge the Collegium reiterates a candidate's recommendation.

The government has the right to retain, reject or send the file back to the High Court.

Further if the government has inputs that the HC Collegium's approval was right and the one by the SC Collegium wrong, then it can ask the appointment body to review its decision.

The appointment of a Chief Justice or Judges of the High Court are done by the President of India under clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India. According to the Department of Justice appointments to the High Court should be made on a time bound schedule so that the appointments are made well in advance preferably a month before the occurrence of the anticipated vacancy.