Singhvi backs SC collegium move against appointing judges' kin
New Delhi (PTI): Hailing the Supreme Court collegium proposal against the appointment of close kin of the judges in the high courts, noted lawyer and Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi has said they should be implemented sooner as judicial appointments are "non objective" that originally conceived.
"If true, both proposals under SC collegium consideration, seemingly radical, are good and should be implemented sooner rather than later," Singhvi said in a post on X.
"Reality of judicial appointments is much murkier and much much more non objective than originally conceived. Mutual Back scratching, uncle judges, family lineages etc demoralise others and bring disrepute to institution," he said.
"But easier said than done: till now we are unable to even ban lawyer relatives practising in same HC as judge relatives. Time and again the system has proved stronger than desirable impulses for reform," Singhvi lamented.
The Congress leader said he wrote decades ago that collegium judges should disguise themselves and sit in courts of those judges being considered for elevation or lawyers in action before elevation.
"Like some sultans of old used to do in ancient times to learn what are the real problems of their fiefdom. We would all be astonished (and scared) at the hiatus between cv and reality, between paper appraisal versus court performance. Interviews proposed now not as good as my suggestion but at least second best, though surprise checks in disguise not entirely unrealistic!!," he said in his post.
The apex court collegium may consider an idea against the appointment of close kin of the judges in the high courts, sources have said.
The proposal 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 the 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 the 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 apex court collegium that decides and recommends names for judgeship in the high courts.
The apex court collegium recently started personal interactions with the lawyers and judicial officers recommended for elevation in the high courts, marking a significant leap from the traditional biodata, written assessments and intelligence reports.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
