Task cut out for the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has asked the government to fix norms for appointing election commissioners to ensure independence in conducting free and fair elections.

The dictum of the Supreme Court to evolve a new mechanism bidding adieu to the present system of picking a person of choice of the Union government to the post of election commissioners gives an unintended impression that polls are not being conducted freely and fairly.

So far, the appointment of election commissioners has remained non-controversial. The Supreme Court has also acknowledged that all appointments of election commissioners have been outstanding and those so appointed have been fair and neutral. 

This being so, the Supreme Court has its task cut out to reduce pendency of cases and script a new mechanism to rectify the collegium system to appoint judges. A fresh memorandum of procedure has not yet been finalised and filling of judicial vacancies has remained an unseemly tussle with the Centre. Eighteen months after the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act was struck down by the Supreme Court, an acceptable modus operandi of appointment of judges, both to the Centre and the judiciary, has to be devised.

If the Supreme Court evinces utmost interest in reducing the backlog of cases in its own backyard and in the subordinate courts, the popular saying “justice delayed is justice denied” can become irrelevant sooner than later.

K V Seetharamaiah, Hassan

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