{"id":116619,"date":"2026-08-02T10:31:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T05:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=116619"},"modified":"2026-08-02T12:40:34","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:10:34","slug":"collegium-system-transparency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/collegium-system-transparency\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Collegium System &#8211; Transparency in Judicial Appointments"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Collegium System Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has raised concerns over the lack of transparency in recent Supreme Court Collegium recommendations, urging the institution to record reasons for judicial appointments to strengthen public confidence and accountability.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Supreme Court Collegium System<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Collegium System<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the mechanism through which judges of the <\/span><b>Supreme Court<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>High Courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are appointed and transferred.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is a judicially evolved system and does not find explicit mention in the Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Evolution of the Collegium System<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Collegium system evolved through a series of Supreme Court judgments known as the <\/span><b>Three Judges Cases<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>First Judges Case (1981):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Held that the executive had primacy in judicial appointments.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Second Judges Case (1993):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Reversed the earlier position and gave primacy to the judiciary, leading to the creation of the Collegium system.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Third Judges Case (1998):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Clarified the composition and functioning of the Collegium through a Presidential Reference.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Composition<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court Collegium comprises:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chief Justice of India (CJI)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recommends:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appointment of Supreme Court judges\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appointment of High Court Chief Justices\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Appointment and transfer of High Court judges\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A High Court Collegium consists of:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chief Justice of the High Court\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two senior-most judges of the High Court\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recommends names for appointment as High Court judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>The Collegium recommends names after considering:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Merit and judicial competence\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seniority\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Integrity\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Representation of different regions and communities\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The recommendations are forwarded to the Union Government. While the government may seek reconsideration, if the Collegium reiterates its recommendation, convention requires the government to accept it.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Need for Transparency in Judicial Appointments<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Judicial appointments directly affect the independence, credibility, and efficiency of the judiciary. Transparency in the appointment process helps:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthen public confidence in the judiciary\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ensure accountability in decision-making\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recognise deserving candidates based on merit\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduce perceptions of arbitrariness\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promote institutional legitimacy\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the same time, the process must maintain confidentiality where necessary to protect the independence of judicial deliberations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>News Summary<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supreme Court Judge Ujjal Bhuyan made these observations while delivering the keynote address at an event.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Concern Over Absence of Reasons<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan observed that the last three resolutions of the Supreme Court Collegium contained no reasons for recommending judges for elevation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He noted that this marked a departure from the Collegium&#8217;s earlier practice, where recommendations were generally accompanied by brief reasons highlighting the suitability of candidates.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to him, this represents a step back from the principle of transparency.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Transparency Enhances Public Confidence<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan stated that recording reasons for judicial appointments strengthens public trust in the institution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He observed that transparency enables citizens to understand why particular candidates have been recommended and reassures them that appointments are based on objective considerations rather than arbitrary decisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Recognition of Deserving Candidates<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan pointed out that the absence of reasons also disadvantages deserving judges.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to him, many judges have made outstanding contributions to the administration of justice, but when recommendations are issued without any explanation, the public remains unaware of their achievements and professional merit.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Providing reasons would therefore acknowledge the work of deserving candidates while enhancing institutional credibility.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Risk of Unsuitable Appointments<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan cautioned that withholding reasons could create space for unsuitable individuals to enter the higher judiciary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He observed that greater transparency in the appointment process could help prevent individuals making unconstitutional or derogatory remarks from being elevated.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He argued that judicial appointments should involve meaningful discussion and recorded reasons, particularly when appointments are made to constitutional courts.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Confidentiality Should Not Mean Complete Opacity<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan acknowledged that deliberations relating to appointments and transfers require a degree of confidentiality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, he distinguished confidentiality of discussions from complete opacity in the final recommendations.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He observed that while internal deliberations may remain confidential, providing brief reasons for recommendations would improve transparency without compromising institutional independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Observations on Live Streaming of Court Proceedings<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan also discussed judicial transparency in the context of live streaming of court proceedings, describing it as the most significant transparency initiative of the past decade.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Transparency in judicial proceedings<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He observed that isolated portions of courtroom exchanges are often circulated with sensational captions, creating misleading public narratives and causing reputational harm to judges, advocates, and litigants.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to him, the order does not dilute live streaming but seeks to distinguish genuine transparency from misuse of judicial proceedings.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Importance of Open Courts<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Bhuyan reiterated that open courts are fundamental to public confidence in the judiciary.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He referred to the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision in Swapnil Tripathi v. Supreme Court of India (2018), which recognised live streaming as an instrument of transparency, accountability, and good governance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also cited the judgment in Central Public Information Officer, Supreme Court of India v. Subhash Chandra Agarwal (2020), wherein the Court observed that judicial independence is not secured by secrecy and that greater transparency does not undermine judicial independence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Justice Bhuyan, public access to justice and transparency constitute the very soul of the justice delivery system.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressreader.com\/foryou?popupArticleId=281659671843031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newindianexpress.com\/india\/2026\/Aug\/01\/sc-judge-justice-bhuyan-questions-collegium-opacity-seeks-reasons-for-judicial-appointments\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has urged greater transparency in the Supreme Court Collegium System to enhance accountability and public trust.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":116628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9179,60,22,59],"class_list":["post-116619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-collegium-system","tag-mains-articles","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116619"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116627,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116619\/revisions\/116627"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}