Judges’ selection row: SC asks HC to show answer sheets
The Supreme Court today asked the registrar of Chhattishgarh High Court to allow an NGO, which alleged irregularities in the 2008 civil judges exam there, to inspect answer sheets of 60 successful candidates.
November 30, 2012
The Supreme Court today asked the registrar of Chhattishgarh High Court to allow an NGO, which alleged irregularities in the 2008 civil judges exam there, to inspect answer sheets of 60 successful candidates.
“We accordingly allow Prashant Bhushan (counsel for NGO Centre for Public Interest Litigation) and his colleague to have inspection of original answer sheets (of 60 successful candidates) in chamber of the Registrar (J-1) at 11 am on December 8,” a bench of justices R M Lodha and Anil R Dave said.
The direction came after the counsel for the Chhattishgarh High Court refused to allow inspection of the answer sheets to the NGO outside court.
The bench, however, did not approve Bhushan’s suggestion that a committee of independent persons or retired judges of the high court, having no link with with the state, be appointed to examine the whole issue.
CPIL, in its PIL, has alleged manipulations and irregularities took place in the examination and subsequent processes to favour close relatives of senior judges, bureaucrats and the law secretary.
During the hearing, Justice Lodha said the issue pertained to the institution of the high court and an outside committee cannot be allowed to look into it.
“The chief justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court has come from outside, we may request him to look into it”, the bench said.
“He is head of the same family and cannot record findings against brother judges”, Bhushan said objecting to the proposal and added the district judges, who examined the answer sheets, have now been elevated to the high court. (More)