‘Why have collegium at all?’: What Kureshi’s rejection says about SC independence in the Modi era – By Shoaib Daniyal
On August 26, the Modi government cleared all nine names sent in by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as judges on the Supreme Court…. the appointments have caused controversy, not for the names that were proposed – but one that was left out. Missing was Justice Akil Kureshi, currently the chief justice of the Tripura High Court and the second-most senior high court judge in the country.
Widely seen to be disliked by the current regime, the fact that the collegium did not even propose Kureshi’s name has sent shockwaves through legal circles. While many are questioning the circumstances surrounding this particular case, doubts are also being raised about the current system of appointments itself….
This is not the first time Kureshi’s career progression has caused controversy.… there is no official reason for why Kureshi’s name was rejected. However, legal circles point to his being a judge in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case. “I have absolutely no doubt he was extremely fit to be appointed and was excluded purely for extraneous reasons,” a senior advocate of the Supreme Court, who did not want to be identified, told Scroll.in. “He ordered the custody of [current Union home minister] Amit Shah.”…
