Ex CJI Bobde: No SC judges appointed in my tenure due to lack of consensus in Collegium

Former Chief Justice of India S A Bobde Saturday said no judges could be appointed in the Supreme Court during his 18-month tenure as the head of the judiciary since the collegium could not arrive at a consensus.

Bobde said there have been times when no elevation of judges could take place for two or more years and it can happen in a human institution.

Responding to a question that in his 18-month tenure as the CJI not a single appointment of judge took place, Justice Bobde said, Yes, so? There have been periods when you haven’t had elevation for two years. You haven’t had elevation for longer. What is so extraordinary about this? We couldn’t arrive at a consensus. It can happen in the human institution.

Justice Bobde was sworn in as the 47th CJI on November 18, 2019 and retired on April 23, 2021.

The former judge, who was speaking at India Today Conclave, said, No, it is not because of the collegium system, it is because as a collegium we were unable to arrive at the consensus. It is not because of the system, it is because we failed as a collegium to arrive at the consensus about the names.

He elaborated that a lack of consensus was because of a particular name (in the list) or, in some cases, the reason was the order in which the elevation should happen.

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