JUDICIAL independence is the bulwark of our system. It gives life to the words of the Constitution. For any democratic country, it is imperative that the process of appointment of judges remains independent and uninfluenced. Wee Chong Jin, the first chief justice of Singapore, rightly said: “The qualities that one should look for in a judge are a burning desire to be fair and impartial; the courage to uphold the law and strike down injustice; compassion, coupled with an understanding of human frailties; and lastly, love for the law."
Of late, there has been a renewed debate over allegations that judges were appointing judges through the collegium system and such a process had resulted in the side-lining of the executive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Judges of district and other lower courts are appointed through a transparent process that includes three stages of exams. A competitive exam, namely PCS (J), is conducted. It is followed by a written test and the qualifying candidates then appear for interviews. This is the final stage for selection of a magistrate/civil judge junior Division. The same process is followed by all the states.
Coming to appointment of higher judicial officers, a similar exam is conducted. Advocates with more than seven years of practice are also appointed from the Bar due to their excellence in practice. Problems, however, arise in the matter of the appointment of senior judges, i.e. judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
The system wherein a group of the seniormost Supreme Court judges headed by the chief justice makes recommendations to the president on the names of those who should be appointed as judges led to the shrinking of the executive's power in proposing a candidate for judgeship. It also took away the executive's veto power.
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