Those who don’t do well in the profession opt for lower judiciary, CJI Khehar

The case on Central Selection Mechanism for subordinate judiciary has generated a lot of debate in the legal circles. The hurried manner in which the Bench wanted to conclude the hearing had led to some strong submissions by Senior Advocates appearing in the matter..The hearing in the case today, however, saw Chief Justice Khehar making some remarks on candidates who opt for lower judiciary..“Those who are doing well in profession will not come to this (lower judiciary). We all know that it is those who are not doing well and, therefore, have time for preparing for these exams who will come to the (lower) judiciary”, he said..Without entering into the debate on the merits of his statement, it is enough to state that it was a sweeping generalisation which was uncalled for by the person who holds the highest judicial office in the country..In fact, this was not the only statement he made today which caught the attention..Khehar J. also proceeded to make certain remarks about the High Courts opposing the Central Selection Mechanism stating that.“If we consider their propositions and don’t agree with them, then we will go ahead. Let them object.”.When the Court is hearing a case on the judicial side, it is obvious that it has the power to consider and reject arguments of parties. But is there a need to rub that on the face of the parties opposing the suo-moto idea of the court?.Moreover, the Bench, which has been hearing the matter, has all along been stating that all the High Courts have been taken into confidence and it is a “broad-based, collective” decision. However, Justice Khehar’s remark today reveals to the contrary..The rush to cushion the proposal with a judicial decision despite objections by various High Courts has resulted in the whole idea being viewed with suspicion. Senior Advocate Harish Salve’s sudden entry yesterday and his arguments which ran contrary to the affidavits submitted by his clients (State of Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh High Court) have only added to the intrigue..While the opposition to the proposal has largely come from Calcutta and Gauhati High Courts, the Delhi High Court also made it clear today that the proposal, as it currently stands, will not fit into the current Constitutional scheme and will require amendment to Article 233..Amicus Curiae Arvind Datar told the court that he is ready to submit a new Concept Note..The Court, however, proceeded to defer the case for two weeks..Justice Khehar retires on August 27 and the matter will now go before a new Bench..Image taken from here.