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The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) has written a letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai and to the Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, urging the necessity for the institution of a transparent, equitable, and merit-based framework for judicial appointments.
The letter penned by SCBA President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh has also highlighted that the present Collegium system of judicial appointment faces structural flaws as it ignores talented lawyers in the Supreme Court Bar for elevation to High Courts. Further, the letter flags that under the current system of appointments, the representation of women in the higher judiciary is extremely low. "As of February 2024, women constituted merely 9.5 per cent of the sanctioned strength in High Courts and a stark 2.94 per cent in the Supreme Court", the letter reads. The letter thus demanded an urgent correction in the current framework by introducing a new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) that shall have a Permanent and Independent Secretariat, objective criteria for selection, and an accountability mechanism. Further, SCBA's letter stated that the current system often ignores briefing lawyers and juniors. The letter emphasised that while arguing counsels possess persuasive skills, briefing counsels should be viewed as natural contenders for judicial elevation, as they possess strong analytical skills and undertake the foundational preparation. "To elevate only the visible face is to perpetuate a flawed understanding of competence, reducing the process to a mere spectacle of a show of faces rather than a substantive evaluation of merit", the letter added. (ANI)
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