PIL in Karnataka High Court for greater transparency, more women in judicial appointments

Taking a cue from the suggestions in the Judges Cases and last year’s NJAC judgment, a lawyer has filed a Public Interest Litigation in the Karnataka High Court seeking transparency in the selection process of judges..Advocate M Veerabhadraiah, in his petition, prays that eligibility criteria and the procedure of appointment of judges to the High Court be made available online..He has also suggested that members of the Bar be given a more proactive role in these appointments. To this end, the petition calls for the names of the persons eligible for elevation to be made available on the High Court and Department of Justice websites, and a mechanism for receiving complaints against potential judges..Moreover, the petition seeks to do away with the practice of elevating district judges to the High Court merely on the basis of seniority..The petition, settled by senior counsel N Devdas, states,.“There are many brilliant District Judges who fulfill the requirements stipulated by the judgments of the Hon’ble Supreme Court who are deprived of chance to adorn the seat of justice in the High Court due to the unjust and unfair method of adhering to the method seniority rule…thus it is necessary that merit cum seniority rule is followed to find out the suitability and the eligibility of District Judges to the post of High Court Judge, in place of mere seniority.”.Taking note of the lack of women judges in the higher judiciary, the petition also suggests that adequate representation be given to women. As of now, only 62 out of the 591 sitting judges across the 24 high courts are women..After striking down the NJAC Act in October last year, the apex court left it to the Executive to amend the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) of appointment of judges. Just last week, the government submitted this MoP to Chief Justice of India TS Thakur, suggesting a number of proposals, some of which are in tune with Veerabhadraiah’s petition..This is not the first time Veerabhadraiah is approaching the Karnataka High Court. In 2014, he was one of the petitioners who challenged the designation of 14 Senior Advocates by the Karnataka High Court..Update: The petition is likely to be listed before the Karnataka High Court for preliminary hearing and to consider the interim prayer on March 21..Read the petition: