PATNA: Union Minister of State (MoS) for Human Resource and Development (HRD) Upendra Kushwaha on Monday launched a fresh tirade against the Supreme Court Collegium, calling the entire process of appoinment of a judge a 'blot on democracy'. 


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“According to the attitude of the judiciary, in the present time, judges don't appoint other judges. They actually appoint their successors. Why do they do that? Why was this made a system to choose successors,” questioned Kushwaha at an event in Patna.


Judges in the top court are appointed by the President of India on the basis of the recommendation of the SC collegium which consists of the Chief Justice of India, four senior most SC judges and the senior-most judge hailing from the high court of a prospective appointee.


“People oppose reservation, say it ignores merit but I think collegium ignores merit. A tea-seller can become PM, fisherman's child can become scientist and later President, but can a maid's child become judge? Collegium's a blot on our democracy,” added the leader of the Bihar-based Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), an ally of the BJP. 


Later taking to Twitter, Kushwaha wrote: “Will you accept any system where the Chief Minister himself appoints the next chief minister, or the MP appoints the next MP and the District Magistrate the next District Magistrate? No, right. So why accept such arrangements in the appointment of judges,” questioned Kushwaha.


 



This is not the first time that the Union Minister has hit out on the system of SC collegium.


Last month, the minister said the system of appointing judges in the top court lacks transparency and called for more representation of people belonging to backward and SC/ST communities. “The gates are closed for ST/ST and Dalits and even meritorious students who are willing to become judges. We want the gates to be opened,” he said.


"There is no country in the world where Supreme Court judges chose their own brother judges," Kashyap said at the event.


 


With agency inputs