Reasons for SC collegium rejecting candidates for judgeship can’t be made public: HC
New Delhi (PTI): The reasons for rejection of recommendations for appointment of high court judges by the Supreme Court collegiums cannot be made public as it will be detrimental to the interests of people concerned and will stifle the appointment process, the Delhi High Court has held.
The high court made the observation while dismissing an appeal challenging an order which had rejected a petition seeking a direction to the Supreme Court collegiums to provide detailed reasons while refusing to accept recommendations for appointment of high court judges.
The appointment of a judge to the high court or Supreme court is an integrated, consultative and non-adversarial process which cannot be challenged in a court of law except on the ground of want of consultation with the named constitutional functionaries or lack of any condition of eligibility in case of an appointment or a transfer being made without the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India, it said.
“Further, publication of reasons for rejection will be detrimental to the interests and standing of people whose names have been recommended by the high courts, as the (SC) collegium deliberates and decides on the basis of information which is private to the individual being considered. Such information, if made public, will have the effect of stifling the appointment process,” a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said.
The division bench said the single judge has correctly noted that this court cannot sit in appeal over the subjective satisfaction of the Supreme Court collegiums.
It said the law regarding appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts is well settled and the apex court has drawn a distinction between eligibility and suitability of a person to be appointed as a judge of the high court.
Petitioner Rakesh Kumar Gupta also sought directions to the top court collegium to provide the "qualification" considered for appointment as a high court judge and publish monthly data related to pending and disposed of recommendations.
The petitioner, who claimed to be a victim of delay in disposal of his case pending in the Rohini district court here, said the "high" rejection rate of recommendations by the collegium of the Supreme Court was "extremely disturbing" and showed there was a communication gap between the apex court and high courts regarding the criteria for appointment.
The petitioner claimed the rejection rate in 2023 was about 35.29 per cent against 4.38 per cent in 2021.
The single judge had dismissed the petition with Rs 25,000 costs, saying it was a "complete waste of judicial time", the petitioner had no locus standi to raise the issue, and he did not give any reason as to how he was a victim.
The division bench dismissed the appeal and said if the petitioner believes that his matters have been delayed, he can file an application for early hearing on the judicial side.
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Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India calls current situation 'no war, no peace'
Bengaluru (PTI): Representative of Iran's Supreme Leader in India, Abdul Majeed Hakeem Ilahi on Saturday characterised the ongoing tensions between his country and the Israel-US alliance as a state of “no war, no peace”.
Calling for an immediate halt to the conflict, he said the global stability hinges on those who initiated the war.
He questioned why countries affected by the war and suffering from the energy crisis are not pressuring the US and Israel to stop the aggression.
Addressing a press conference here, Ilahi said Iran did not want the conflict, but was compelled to respond amid continued attacks, even as negotiations were expected to continue.
"Iran didn't want this war, but Iran was forced by the war and several times Iran tried to avoid this war... I don't know what is the condition of these people and these countries (US-Israel)... they want to impose on other countries what they want, and who gave them this authority?" he questioned.
Recalling the negotiations Iran held in Oman, he said talks later moved to Geneva and made progress before being disrupted by sudden attacks.
Ilahi claimed that airstrikes and missile attacks led to the deaths of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ministers, commanders and civilians.
"They killed a lot of civilians… They attacked a primary school, and they killed 175 innocent girls," he said, claiming over 4,000 deaths, more than 40,000 injuries, and widespread damage to houses, hospitals, universities and public infrastructure.
Despite these losses, he said Iran resisted calls for “unconditional surrender” and stood firm and defended itself.
"They wanted unconditional surrender. Which no one—no one can accept it. Iran said, 'Okay, we are ready to be sacrificed,' but we are not ready to submit ourselves," he added.
He argued that they (US-Israel) proposed the current ceasefire only after realising that they could not achieve any of their objectives after 40 days of conflict.
The envoy further claimed that the ceasefire is not an actual ceasefire, but a “no war, no peace” situation.
Explaining the current situation in Iran, he said conditions remain stable and people are going about their daily lives.
"They are working ....(leading) their ordinary life. They are working—they're going farming and they do everything....and they aren't scared of anything. And they are ready to defend themselves," he added.
Addressing the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, he said the situation was stable before February 28 and all countries benefited from it.
"(For) 10,000 years, the Strait of Hormuz was open...and Iran daily yearly spent a lot for providing security in the Strait of Hormuz... so no one even complained anything about the Strait of Hormuz. Everyone was free...and even our enemies their warship was passing through the Strait of Hormuz," he said.
However, he linked the current maritime instability to the actions of the US and Israel.
"So Iran cannot do anything. Those people who initiated, created and started this war, they have to stop it. And everything will go back to normal," he said.
Criticising the mentality of the "great powerful country", Ilahi said, "they think they have the right to do whatever they want. It should change."
He sought to know why the countries affected by the conflict are not exerting pressure on the US and the "Zionist" regime to halt the war.
"Why are they not asking them? This crisis and problem by which a lot of countries are affected was created by them. A lot of factories are closed and even working days in some countries reduced... A lot of restaurants are closed," he said.
Seeking fairness and justice, Ilahi said instead of asking Iran, all those nations should ask those who initiated this war to stop it, by telling them, "we are suffering."
To a query on international mediation, Ilahi, referring to the US, asked, "Is it acceptable and reasonable that one country orders all countries -- you should not deal with this country, You should not purchase from this country. You should not have business with this country. You should not buy from this country."
Ilahi also highlighted Iran's long-standing ties with India and said, "It is a great country and we respect India and Indians."
"We have 5,000 years relationship and friendship. We are connected to India by education, by philosophy, by culture, by civilisation and by the economy," he said.
According to him, the bilateral cooperation remains strong, citing diplomatic engagement.
"At the moment also, our relationship, collaboration, cooperation with India is very good," he said, adding Iran allowing Indian ships to pass through Strait of Hormuz reflects the ties.
"Iran allowed Indian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Why? A lot of countries couldn't get this permission?... The relationship between Iran and India is very good," he added.
He expressed confidence that in future too, the ties between Iran and India will be strong.
