Close kin of judges for HC judgeship: SC collegium may consider idea against it
New Delhi, Dec 30: The Supreme Court collegium may consider an idea against the appointment of close kin of judges in high courts, sources said.
The proposal was said to be mooted by a senior judge, and if acted upon, could bring more inclusivity in such appointments and erase the perception of lineage outweighing merit in judicial appointments.
According to sources, the collegium could consider the idea of instructing high court collegiums to refrain from recommending candidates whose parents or close relatives were current or former Supreme Court or high court judges.
While this proposal may disqualify some deserving candidates, one of the sources believed it would open up opportunities for first-generation lawyers and broaden the representation of diverse communities in constitutional courts.
However, this may lead to unjust denial of judgeship to deserving people just because they are related to sitting or former judges of the higher judiciary, added the source.
The three-member collegium, which recommends names for the judgeship in the apex court at the moment, comprises Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant.
Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Abhay S Oka are also part of the larger five-member SC collegium that decides and recommends names for judgeship in high courts.
The apex court collegium recently started personal interactions with lawyers and judicial officers recommended for elevation in the high courts, marking a significant leap from the traditional biodata, written assessments and intelligence reports.
The SC collegium held its meetings on December 22 and recommended about six names to the Centre for appointment as judges in high courts at Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Bombay and Allahabad.
The need to reintroduce personal interactions seems to have gathered steam after a recent controversy involving Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav of the Allahabad High Court.
Justice Yadav’s contentious remarks at a VHP event in December, when he called for India to function according to the majority’s wishes, had sparked widespread criticism.
Justice Yadav appeared before the Supreme Court collegium on December 17 to put forth his version on the controversy.
The top court on December 10 took note of news reports over the statements and sought a report from the Allahabad High Court on the issue.
"The Supreme Court has taken note of newspaper reports of a speech given by Mr Justice Shekhar Kumar Yadav, a sitting judge of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad. The details and particulars have been called from the high court and the matter is under consideration," an official statement said earlier.
According to the established norm, a judge, against whom a report is sought by the apex court collegium on any controversial issue from the high court concerned, is given opportunity to put forth his or her version before the top court collegium headed by the chief justice of India.
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Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve last year's trade deal or it will face higher tariffs
Washington (AP): President Donald Trump has said in a social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year's trade framework by July 4.
The announcement on Thursday appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25 per cent tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a "great call" with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the US president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the US Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
"A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!" Trump posted. "I agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels."
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the US would charge a 15 per cent tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10 per cent tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
