Scrutiny by collegium stringent these days: CJI

Scrutiny in appointments to the higher judiciary is much more stringent these days and it would have been "inconceivable" for a judge like late V R Krishna Iyer, who flaunted his political activism, to be elevated to the apex court, Chief Justice T S Thakur said on Wednesday.

"A politician becoming a judge and that too a judge of the Supreme Court is inconceivable in present context. That too a judge who has been prosecuted in 10 criminal cases. A judge who has undergone sentence for 30 days," he said in his speech at Inaugural Lecture series in memory of Justice Iyer here.

"A judge who is a political activist, an agitationist becoming a candidate and becoming a judge is inconceivable today," he further said.

While calling himself a die hard fan of Justice Iyer, the Chief Justice said in today's time, if we had an Iyer-type candidate, the collegium would have hesitated in recommending him.

"We had a meeting of the collegium today. One of the objection about two of the candidates were that they had obtained a chamber and the allotment was later cancelled as it was found that the allotment was not valid according to rules.

"Allottee has gone to the court to challenge the cancellation. Now one of the objection is that this candidate is in litigation. We have even deferred. Times have changed.

Today if we had a Justice Krishna Iyer kind of candidate, we would have been very very hesitant in recommending him for elevation," CJI said.

Beside the CJI, former Supreme Court Judge K S P Radhakrishnan, senior advocates Fali S Nariman and P H Parekh praised Justice Iyer while addressing the first lecture series organised by Sarada-Krishna Satgamaya Foundation, a charitable trust founded by Justice Iyer, to conduct law lectures and to promote other activities connected with legal education and legal literary works.