The simmering tension boiled over on Friday, when the issue of appointments of judges to the high courts of Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura came up before a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur (who’s part of the top court collegium) and Justice Deepak Gupta. Justice Lokur demanded to know from the attorney general — the government’s topmost law officer — why the government was sitting on recommendations made by the collegium.
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When Mr Venugopal said “I will have to find out”, the court shot back: “When it comes to the government, you say “we will find out’.”
“Some high courts have 40 vacancies and recommendation of the collegium is only for three. And the government is being told that we are tardy in filing up the vacancy,” he said.
“The collegium will have to see the broad picture and recommend more names,” Mr Venugopal said, asserting that the government could not do anything “if there is no collegium recommendation”.
“What shortly? Shortly could be three months,” the bench retorted.
Mr Venugopal stood his ground.
He also pointed to a recommendation of the collegium to appoint a judge in the Manipur High Court and specifying that he would continue to function in Gauhati High Court.
Venugopal said a decision on these appointments would be made soon. “What are the people from the Northeast supposed to do? They come before us and say: ‘please transfer our case to other high courts’. They spend money for this,” Justice Lokur said, giving the government 10 days to get back to court on the matter.