INTRODUCTION
On Wednesday former Supreme Court Judge Justice Abhay Oka expressed opinion over Justice Nagarathna’s dissent over Justice Vipul Pancholi’s elevation. Justice Oka was of the opinion that the public has the right to know about the dissenting opinions regarding the elevation.
NAGARATHNA’S DISSENT ON JUSTICE VIPUL PANCHOLI’S ELEVATION
Justice B V Nagarathna was elevated as Supreme Court Judge in August 2021. She was a senior member of the Supreme Court Collegium. Justice Nagarathna expressed her dissent in electing Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Pancholi as a judge of the Supreme Court of India. The reasons for the dissent are not made public till now. But according to some reports, the reasons for the dissent are mainly because of the Judge’s merit, seniority, integrity and also their judicial performances.
JUSTICE ABHAY OKA’S OPINION
Justice Oka was responding to a question raised by a senior advocate Indira Jaisingh during the launch of the book written by former Orissa High Court Chief Justice S Muralidhar.Indira pointed out that the dissent regarding elevation should not be locked away in history, it must be responsible for public accountability. She was of the opinion that the secrecy of the decisions of collegium will raise the concern of the fairness of electing the future chief justice of India.
PUBLIC TRUST OVER NAGARATHNA’S DISSENT ON JUSTICE VIPUL PANCHOLI’S ELEVATION
Justice Oka underlined that the judiciary is responsible and accountable to the public, whose trust is essential. The public has the right to know and understand the appointments of judges. He also mentioned that he supported the reason for the dissent to be open to the public without compromising the privacy of the candidates. Concealing the dissent of the judges like Nagaratna will lead to doubt on whether these appointments occur on merit or any other criteria.
CONCLUSION
Justice Vipul Pancholi was elevated as a Supreme Court Judge on the recommendation of the Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice B.R Gavai. Justice B R Nagarathna is the sole women member in the Supreme Court Collegium and her dissent against the appointment is still not made public. Everyone including Justice Oka is still demanding the public’s right to know why she opposed the appointment of Justice Vipul Pancholi. The debate over Justice Nagarathna’s dissent is not just about one judge – it is about the future of judicial transparency in India.
AUTHOR DETAILS:
Aswathy S Menon, a law graduate from Mar Gregorios College of Law, Thiruvananthapuram, and Practicing as a lawyer at High Court of Kerala with over two years of experience in litigation, compliance, and legal research. She has contributed to legal content writing and worked on civil, criminal, and corporate matters, with particular interests in corporate governance, contract law, and dispute resolution.