Chennai: Retired judges of Madras High Court, Chandru and Hari Paranthaman, called for social justice and diversity in the appointment of judges.
At a press conference at Chennai Press Club on Monday, they said that social justice should be followed and diversity maintained in the appointment process.
"Judges should be appointed from all sections of the society, including Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), minorities and women. Seventy nine percent of the judges in the country belong to the upper castes, which constitute only 10 percent of the population. We are not saying that they shouldn't be appointed but chance should be given to the other communities as well. Representation from only a single community is not good for the institution, society and democracy," retired judge Hari Paranthaman said.
The documents of the collegium selecting judges are not made available to anyone, he said adding, there are currently 10 vacancies in the Madras High Court and appointment of 25 to 30 judges is to be held this year. "The collegium should recommend names from all sections of the society. Even parliamentary community has said that there is a diversity deficit," he added.
Retired judges Chandru and Hari Paranthaman said lawyers have complained that Justice Victoria Gowri, who was mired in controversy over reports of her alleged affiliation to the BJP, is not qualified to be a judge but it was said that her recommendation had already been made. On the other hand, Neelakandan, who has alleged affiliation to the DMK, was not appointed as a judge, they said. "Social justice should be followed. We should avoid giving too much importance to a small group," retired judge Hari Paranthaman said.
They stressed on the importance of providing adequate representation for the women and people from all communities in the appointment of judges. John Sathyan, Ameeth, and Neelakandan, who have not been appointed as judges despite being recommended by the collegium, should be appointed as judges, they said.
In the last 75 years, majority of the population, OBCs, SCs, STs, women and minorities have not had adequate representation in the high courts and the Supreme Court, retired judge Hari Paranthaman said.
The retired judges have alleged that only those with a particular ideology are appointed as judges while people from many communities have never been appointed as high court judges. Out of the 601 appointments between 2018 and 2023, 457 judges are from the upper castes. Only one SC judge from Tamil Nadu has been appointed as Supreme Court judge while of the 18 judges from Kerala, not a single person is from the backward classes, they said.
Retired judges Chanduru and Hari Paranthaman further alleged that only those in harmony with the Union Government are appointed as judges. They also alleged that it is not the collegium that appoints judges but the Union Government makes the appointments by using the collegium's name.
