Govt interfering in appointment of judges: Justice Chelameswar writes to CJI Misra

The letter comes at a time when Opposition parties have called for the impeachment of CJI Misra.

Justice Jasti Chelameswar has written a five-page letter to Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra seeking a full court on the judicial side to discuss the issue of government interference in the appointment of high court judges.

According to The Indian Express, the letter which has also been copied to 22 other judges of the Supreme Court stated that the government has been selective in accepting recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium for the appointment of judges to high courts. It chooses to ignore or defer the names it finds uncomfortable, the letter states, thereby affecting the independence of the judiciary.

"The letter goes on to demand a full court on the judicial side to discuss the current situation. A full court meeting of the Supreme Court is usually convened by the CJI when a matter of public importance relating to the administration of the judiciary comes up," The Indian Express report said.

"Let us also not forget that bonhomie between Judiciary and Government in any State sounds the death knell to Democracy. We both are mutual watchdogs, so to say, not mutual admirers, much less constitutional cohorts," Chelameswar wrote to CJI.

The letter comes at a time when Opposition parties have called for the impeachment of CJI Misra.

OneIndia News