Thread by @barandbench

Book launch of 'Appointment of judges to the Supreme Court of India' underway at India International Centre, Delhi

Launch to be followed by discusssion on the topic 'The Indian Higher Judiciary: Issues and Prospects' featuring Justice Jasti Chelameswar, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and Prof Paul Craig of Oxford University

Book features essays from different lawyers appearing for different parties in the NJAC - Ritwika Sharma

Arun Jaitley unable to make the event due to health concerns

Arghya Sengupta moderating the talk. Justice Chelameswar speaks about qualities of a good judge. "There are certain qualities are timeless, like impartiality."

There have been and will always be aberrations, but I don't find anything wrong with the Constitution - Justice Chelameswar

Sengupta - Can you see a day when Indians will apply to become judges?
Chelameswar - You mean officially applying for it?!

Is seniority a criterion for elevation?
Chelameswar J- some amount of maintenance of records of collegium meetings would make things clearer. An assessment of the performance of a judge is hardly done. Assessments go by impressions.

Is objectivity in appointments possible?
Prof Craig - there is subjectivity as to whether objective criteria are met or not.There are smart people who make bad decisions. There is a need for people with good judgment.
Should be able to write clear, analytical judgments.

Prof Craig - I want my judges to be honest and transparent. Judicial accountability is as important as political transparency.

Are judges themselves the best judges of determining criteria for appointment?
Prof Craig - the best form of an appointment panel is a mixed panel. There should be some judicial appointees and other people with trustworthiness and intellect.

If there are inputs from civil society, will it be possible to get a woman CJI.
Chelameswar J - I don't want to speculate. As far as participation of civil society is concerned, my views are on record in the NJAC judgment.

Sengupta quotes from @pbmehta essay on waning of trust between organs of governance. What reforms that the Supreme Court needs to undergo to retain public trust?

Transfer of chief justices was agreed upon by all political parties. At one point, a particular high court had four cjs in different high courts. By virtue of second judges case, each one of them would be entitled to elevation - Chelameswar J.

Any benefit of having an outsider as a HC judge?
If I stayed back in AP, every decision of mine would be looked at. Are we sure that outside cjs are not being influenced by local factors? Chelameswar J.

We must fully understand what is the problem first. The sanctioned strength of SC is 31. Every state believes it is entitled to have a seat. It has become an unwritten norm to have state-wise representation- Chelameswar J

Gauhati HC (where Chelameswar J was Chief Justice) had seven different benches. How long would it take for people to get acquainted with the system. By the time the cj understands the.local problems, he is elevated, transferred or retires.

Time for a Permanent Constitution Bench?
Chelameswar J - certainly an idea I would welcome. It requires a relook at the jurisdiction of the court. If it were really to do only Constitution matters, there would be no use for 31 judges. Each one of the 31 is a Supreme court

Is it the Supreme Court's own doing by giving special leave to appeal?
If there were another appellate court above us, half out judgments would be reversed! If the quality of hcs is not up to the mark, we need to improve the quality.

Panel taking questions. No legitimate expectation for answers! Sengupta