Reflecting the Soul of India

Even as the collegium recommended nine names as judges to the apex court, there was none from minority communities. The Court should reflect the composite culture and constitutional values of the nation

- Lokendra Malik

WITH the Supreme Court collegium recommending nine names for appointment as judges, it has ended a nearly two-year-long stalemate. During his tenure, the previous chief justice of India (CJI), SA Bobde, had called several meetings of the collegium, but all ended without a consensus. When Justice NV Ramana assumed the office of CJI in April, people hoped that he would break the impasse. Thankfully, he did, and a consensus in the collegium led to the recommendation of nine persons—eight judges of High Courts, and one senior advocate of the Supreme Court—to be appointed to the top court.

The collegium has also made history by recommending the name of a woman judge, likely to become the CJI in 2027 for a few months based on seniority. Three women judges, for the first time in the country’s judicial history, have been recommended for appointment as judges of the Supreme Court, which has mostly been a male bastion.

If the centre clears the collegium’s recommendations in time, the apex court will have 33 judges, out of the total sanctioned strength of 34. But along with this exercise, the collegium was also expected to consider the interests of the minorities. Sadly, it forgot them. Currently, the Supreme Court has only one Muslim and one Christian judge. Justice Rohinton Nariman, a Parsi, retired a few days ago. There is no Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, or Adivasi judge in the Supreme Court presently.

As of now, we have two Muslim chief justices and some senior judges in High Courts. At least, one of them should have been brought to the apex court, given the under-representation of Muslims in the Court. It is necessary in order to sustain the trust of minorities in the institution of the judiciary. The Court decides several important issues relating to Islamic law which can be adjudicated easily with the help of a Muslim judge on the bench.