CHENNAI: The Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) has appealed to the Chief Justice of Madras High Court to ensure representation to all sections, including minorities, is given in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.
“On behalf of the entire legal fraternity, we request the CJ and the Collegium to consider names of candidates hailing from different sections of the society, including the minorities, based on their legal acumen, integrity and wisdom while making recommendations for elevation as judges,” a letter sent to the CJ stated.
The letter was signed by senior advocate and vice-chairman of the Bar Council of India S Prabakaran, chairman of BCTNP P S Amalraj and vice-chairman V Karthikeyan.
At present, the court has a strength of 66 judges against the sanctioned strength of 75. In the current year, a few judges are going to attain superannuation. Hence it is high time the vacancies are filled to attain speedy and uninterrupted administration of justice, they said.
They also wanted the recommendations made by the High Court’s collegium contain names of advocates from all sections of the society. It is one of the characteristics of a democratic setup that all sections of society irrespective of their caste, creed and religion are eligible and suitable for appointment as judges of the High Court, they said.