New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was surprised regarding the deletion of a matter connected with the delay in the appointment of judges in the high courts from its list of cases.
A bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, “I have not deleted it or expressed unwillingness to take it up. I am sure the Chief Justice of India is aware of it (deletion of the matter)”. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing a party, contended that the court should call for a report from the registry. Bhushan stressed that it is very strange that the matter got deleted despite a judicial order having fixed a date of hearing.
Justice Kaul said, “Some things are best left unsaid. We will see…” The case being referred to was a plea filed by the Advocates Association Bengaluru regarding a delay in appointing judges. The Chief Justice of India is the master of the roster. Justice Kaul is the second senior-most judge of the Supreme Court. He said will demit office upon superannuation this month on December 25, 2023.
On November 7, the Supreme Court had reiterated its displeasure with the Centre’s selective pick-and-choose approach in clearing names of candidates for appointment as judges to the higher judiciary. The apex court stressed that it hoped that a situation would not come where it or the collegium may have to take some decision which may not be palatable.
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