Indian Collegium System

India is a democracy and has a collegium system followed by all the banks. The constitutional systems in India are maintained as a transparent and democratic platform to practice unbiased operations and deliver services. One such unique system is the collegium of the judges that look after the democratic rights and independence of all the citizens in the country. In this article, we will discuss what is the collegium system and how it works in a democratic country like India.

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A Brief Introduction to the Collegium System

The highest position in the judiciary system of India is held by the Chief Justice of India. He is, after all, a human being who might face difficulties in making decisions or can make biased decisions at some point in time. In order to make it transparent and to dilute the power of giving opinions, a collegium system was established in India in 1993.

In order to protect the democratic rights and independence of the citizens, this step was taken by the judicial system of India. A body was formed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and four other top judges holding the top positions in the judiciary system of India. This was done to ensure proper opinions are passed in an unbiased way to save democracy and to establish faith in the Indian judiciary system.

Despite this system, it has often witnessed dilution in the power of this board as the favoured election of the members was done for passing opinions. The transparency in the appointments of the judicial system often was questioned. The prime aim of the collegium system is to shield independence from erosion and restore faith in the judiciary system. It looks after whether the opinions are passed by following the laws scrupulously.

What is a Collegium System?

It is a unique system of the judicial domain of India where the judges are appointed or transferred depending on their performances and cases. It is based on the sole decision made by the Supreme Court. Here, no intervention is noticed from the side of the Parliament. In fact, nothing is written in the constitution that can be followed to perform such acts.

A bench is built considering the CJI and four top judges in India that will look into such matters. This bench sits in the Supreme Court, and all the hearings are done there. The four other judges must be the senior-most among their clan. The seniority is determined based on the number of years serving as a judge in the same court.

Another collegium is set in the High Court as well, where the same rules are followed. In this case, the chief justice of the high court follows the dictated rules, and four other senior judges are chosen to build a bench of judges to look into these matters. In this aspect, we need to understand how the collegium system works.

How does a Collegium System Work?

There are a total of 31 judges in the Supreme Court. Out of them, one is the CJI, and the rest are the senior-most judges in the clan. These posts are filled considering the applications from the judges in other courts. A comprehensive inquiry is set to understand the seniority and experience of these applications and then suitable profiles are chosen for the vacant posts. Among these judges, four judges are chosen for a collegium system.

These names are chosen based on the experience and the nominations done by the entire bench. To understand the participation of the government and the constitution, follow the points mentioned below.

• The Constitutional Provisions

As per Article 124(2) mentioned in the Indian Constitution, the judges are chosen for the vacant posts of the Supreme Court by the President of India. The president will inquire about the other judges in different courts with the assistance of the current judges in the Supreme Court and then proceed to make a decision.

For this decision, the courts in the states and the Supreme Court may decide together to choose the best judges for the vacant positions and to complete the bench of the Supreme Court.

In the same context, a judge is chosen for a high court under the consultation of the President of India and the CJI of the Supreme Court. In this decision, the opinion of the State Governor is also considered as important. The chief justice of a high court is chosen under the supervision of the President of India. Apart from this, the Constitution of India will play no role in choosing a collegium system for a court. This is the answer to what is the collegium system and how it works.

•  Government’s Role

In this case, the role of the Government of India and the state governments is quite limited. All they can do is initiate an inquiry by seeking help from the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The team assigned by the IB will conduct thorough research on the chosen profiles and will submit the report regarding the actions, justice served, experience, history, legal cases, etc.

This is done when a lawyer is chosen for the position of judge in the courts. The government will initiate such an investigation process regarding the personal and professional character of that lawyer.

In the same context, the government can seek clarifications regarding choosing the profiles for a collegium system. It depends on the collegiums whether they will reiterate or cooperate with the government’s clarification plea. If they reiterate, the government is bound to follow the decisions made by the bench.

Few Issues Linked to the Collegium System

Cases where the System is not Transparent

Now that we know what the collegium system is, we can easily understand that a bench of top judges along with the CJI can be chosen easily without any consent or permission of an authoritative body. The CJI and the judges are the only decision-makers here. It has been found that biased decisions are made based on personal choices and benefits.

Sometimes, it has been found that the judges are chosen based on nepotism, and these decisions cannot be challenged due to the un-involvement of the Indian Constitution. Sometimes, the selection is based on the concern of propriety, selecting themselves as a bench of judges for collegiums, etc.

In such cases, the talented advocates and junior judges are overlooked who could have done the best in the world by being present on the bench as top judges.

Halting the development of the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC)

If you follow and understand how the collegium system works, you can easily spot how the choice of judges can be partial for these responsible positions. In order to stop this lack of transparency or opaqueness in the system, a committee was proposed with the name National Judicial Appointment Commission to reinstate faith in these collegiums. This decision was turned down by the Supreme Court as it wanted to keep its ground of making decisions intact. The bench said in 2015 that commencing this commission will harm the independence of this collegium system.

What can be Done to Reinstate Faith in the Collegium System?

As we can see that the Supreme Court has the sovereign power to control the decisions for making a collegium system, the NJAC body should be constructed to ensure that the judges are chosen according to the system and by avoiding any biased factor.

This step will preserve the judiciary system’s independence and will fill up the vacancies transparently. Institutionalization is mandatory for such purposes so that corruption can be eliminated from this system. After all, the judiciary system is what gives hope to the democracy and independence of the common people.

Judges from different courts also suggest changing the way a profile is recommended for the posts. Valid criteria should be set to choose profiles, and they should be sent to the President of India for evaluation.

This is what a collegium system means in the Indian Judiciary System. As the definition suggests, a collegium system has its sovereign power to choose judges from the top profiles in the Supreme Court along with the CJI. This system is chosen for unbiased decision-making and passing solid opinions. Concentrate on the faults and understand how they can be made better.