Q. Consider the following statements with respect to collegium system based judicial appointments and transfer processes:
1. The collegium system works on the principle of consensus.
2. Recently, Supreme Court has set a time limit to process the names for the appointments of High Court Judges.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Exp) Option b is the correct answer
Statement 1 is incorrect. The sole opinion of the chief justice of India does not constitute the consultation process. He should consult a collegium of four senior most judges of the Supreme Court and even if two judges give an adverse opinion, he should not send the recommendation to the government. Hence, we can conclude collegium system does not work on the principle of consensus.
Statement 2 is correct. The Supreme court, for the first time, indicated an outer time limit within which the Centre is expected to process the names for appointments of the high court judges, besides notifying appointments once the names are reiterated by its collegium. The Supreme Court essentially altered the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) through a judicial order, and said the government must act on the names recommended for appointment within four months.
