New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul has criticised former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud over his approach to judicial appointments, alleging that he was “more than unduly deferential” to the government.
In his forthcoming book, Without Fear or Favour, Justice Kaul recounts a Collegium meeting to fill six vacancies in the Supreme Court. He writes that five names had already been agreed upon, but Chandrachud unexpectedly proposed a sixth candidate and suggested seeking the government’s opinion on the nomination.
According to Kaul, the then CJI took him into a separate room and asked whether he should call the government to seek its views. Speaking to news portal The Wire about his book, Kaul said the Collegium should resist executive pressure to safeguard judicial independence.
Asked whether Chandrachud was trying to please the government or obtain its prior approval, Kaul said he did not believe it was an attempt to please the government. However, he recalled that the five names had been discussed and agreed upon earlier, and he had expected the other Collegium members to support them.
Kaul said the sixth name was presented to him shortly before the Collegium meeting. He added that he had made it clear that he did not accept the proposed candidate and would not agree to the nomination.
In an interview with senior journalist Karan Thapar, Kaul also expressed concern that discussing candidates with the government in advance had, unfortunately, become a kind of established practice.
