BHOPAL: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday raised concerns over the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) involvement in executive appointments, calling for a reevaluation of such practices.
“How can, in a democracy like ours, the CJI be statutorily involved in selecting the CBI director? Is there any legal rationale for it?” Dhankhar questioned while speaking at the National Judicial Academy in Bhopal, as per a press statement from the Vice President’s Secretariat.
He acknowledged that the provision emerged from a judicial verdict, which the executive of the time accepted. However, he asserted that “the time has come to revisit it,” arguing that such involvement does not align with democratic principles.
The appointment of the CBI director is made by the Centre based on the recommendation of a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the CJI or a Supreme Court judge nominated by him.
Expressing concerns over the breach of the separation of powers, Dhankhar remarked, “Executive governance by judicial decree is a constitutional paradox that the world’s largest democracy can no longer afford.”
