Too Few Rules

Without some codification, SC collegium will keep running into problems in selecting judges

That the five-member Supreme Court collegium issued a clarification, following reported differences over appointment of judges to four SC vacancies, is commendable. More so because key aspects of the collegium system of appointing judges are not open to any scrutiny. Take for instance, SC's statement revealing that the "procedure of circulating the judgments of the prospective candidates and making an objective assessment of their relative merit was introduced for the first time" in the September 26 collegium meeting. This is a very important public disclosure and also startling - surely such objective criteria should be regular inputs in judges selection.