The petitions challenging the delay in the appointment of judges by the Central Government were not scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court on December 5, despite a specific directive on the preceding date.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing one of the petitioners, brought this to the attention of the bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia. Although the petitions were initially listed in the causelist for December 5, they were subsequently removed.
“The matter of judges’ appointments is not on December 5 schedule. It’s perplexing that it has been removed,” remarked Bhushan.
“I will only say one thing – I have not removed the matter,” Justice Kaul asserted.
“Your lordship should seek an explanation from the Registry,” Bhushan suggested.
“I am confident the Chief Justice is aware of it,” responded Justice Kaul.
“Very strange. A judicial order to list it today is there,” Bhushan emphasized.
“Yesterday, I discovered it was removed. I verified,” noted Justice Kaul.
When Bhushan expressed it was “highly unusual,” Justice Kaul replied, “Some things are best left unsaid sometimes.”
“I want to clarify that it’s not that I have removed the matter or that I am unwilling to hear the matter. It’s both,” Justice Kaul concluded.
On several previous occasions, the bench had criticized the Central Government for delaying collegium resolutions. The Court condemned the government’s “pick and choose” approach, where only certain recommendations were approved while others were kept pending.
During the last hearing, the Court had flagged the selective approach in notifying the transfer of judges, specifically noting that four judges of the Gujarat High Court had not been transferred despite collegium recommendations.
Justice Kaul, who had earlier informed the Attorney General that he would schedule the matter at regular intervals to monitor progress in appointments, is set to retire on December 25. The Court will go on winter vacation from December 15.
