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| Syed Shahabuddin is a well known in the political and academic circles as well as in the mass media and does not need an introduction. In his many incarnations he has been a university teacher, a diplomat, who served as an ambassador and a government official who was at the time of his seeking pre-mature retirement, the Joint Secretary in charge of South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Ministry of External Affairs. He was a MP for three terms between 1979 and 1996 and made a mark as a Parliamentarian. He has edited Muslim India, the monthly journal of research, documentation and reference from 1983 to 2002 and again from July 2006. He has been a regular contributor on current affairs in the media and a familiar participant in seminars and TV discussions. He has been a member of many learned bodies and associated with several Muslim institutions and organizations. More... |
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10 March, 2009 |
Dear Shri Bhardwaj, In the body of the report you have been quoted to say that the government has approved 150 additional posts of High Court Judges. However, the level of vacancy is very high in many High Courts. For example, it stands at 14 out of 60 in Madras and 12 out of 18 in Chhatisgarh. It is obvious that the appointment of judges takes a long time. But this is a separate issue. The procedure of selection and appointment can be simplified. I am writing this, however, to request you to clarify how location of a H.C. the size of a High Court bench are decided. In the same article, Mr. Soli Sorabjee, the eminent advocate has suggested the appointment of senior advocates as ‘temporary judges’, in High Courts with which they are not connected. Even this will require the adoption of an output criteria per judge. In the meantime the level of arrears has been rising from year to year and assuming the proportion of a national debacle. A radical change in the basic system both with regard to location of High Courts and fixing the strength of the bench and the procedure of appointment is called for. Tinkering with situation and procedure and adjudication outside High Court will not be of much help. I would like only to point that the judiciary cannot be left to appoint itself. From this point of view, the establishment of the Indian Judicial Service which will provide at least 1/3, if not 1/2 of the judges of the High Courts, and the institution of a competitive examination for practising advocates with at least 10 years experience to provide the balance, while creating some space for legal experts and academician are urgently needed. Also the Executive should have an equal role with the judiciary in the selection and the appointment of S.C. and H.C. judges should be subject to confirmation by the parliament.With kind regards |
Yours sincerely |
(Syed Shahabuddin |
Shri H. R. Bhardwaj, |
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