Economist Sanjeev Sanyal, who has been advocating for reforms in the bureaucracy, has now said that the judiciary must be modernised and if not done, it will probably be the biggest obstacle to the country's economic, social, and national progress. He also called for a change in the collegium system, through which apex court judges appoint and transfer judges in the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
"We will have to change the justice system. Think about this 'tareekh pe tareekh' system. What is this? We say this is from the colonial time. For seventy-five years we have the same system," the noted economist said in a podcast - Prachayam.
"The High Courts and the Supreme Court take leave in summer and then take leave again in Dussehra. What is this system? They work for a few hours. All these old systems will have to be changed, and modernise it. The government can contribute to this to some extent. But in the end, the justice system will have to do it on its own," he said.
As per the Supreme Court's calendar for 2024, the summer vacation of the court will commence on May 20 and the court will resume its sitting on July 8. Similarly, the apex court will be closed for six days - between October 7 and October 12 - for Dussehra. Besides these holidays, during Christmas and New Year, the SC will remain closed from December 25 to January 1, 2025 (both days inclusive).
When asked about the collegium system, Sanyal, a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Economic Advisory Council, said there has to be some improvements in the way judges are appointed. "In today's collegium system, the judges decide - who will be the next judge and the next ones will do the same, then what will happen in this that their own people will continue."
The economist, who served as Principal Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance from 2017 to 2022, cited his own example and said he is an advisor to the advisory council to PM Modi. "If we say, we will tell who should be the next advisor. We will appoint them. Does it go on like this? It (appointment) should be on merit."
"Otherwise it will be like - I will do, my brother will do it, my son will do it, or my acquaintances will run it - it will go on like this. So if a system is formed in which pass-in will run then that should be stopped. A new system should be made so that people from outside can also come."
Sanyal said that a modern system should be made, otherwise, the people will still be going to courts and saying, milords. He also advocates change in the way judges are addressed in a courtroom. "What does it (milord) mean? You should definitely think about what these words (milord, your lordships) mean. In my opinion, there is a need for a new thinking in the society. That will create pressure."
The economist and historian said that it will not matter if the government fights alone and there should be a debate in the whole society about this. "There should be a public debate on how our new system will be implemented in a new way. If modernisation is not done, then I would say that this is probably the biggest obstacle in our economic, social, and national progress," he added.
The collegium system has been under scrutiny due to a lack of transparency in the entire process through which a group of judges recommend the appointments.
In an interview with India Today's News Director Rahul Kanwal at the India Today Conclave 2023, CJI DY Chandrachud defended the collegium system and suggested that the information about the whole process is not shared as it involves diverse sets of aspects related to candidates' personal life and professional life.
"When we deal with people's (judges under consideration) intimate and private aspects of lives, we have to be conscious of the fact that you can't in the process of selection open up every aspect of their lives to society at large," he said.