New Delhi: Former Madras high court judge K. Chandru has alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has gained effective control over appointments to the Supreme Court and high courts through the collegium system, arguing that the arrangement has allowed the executive to exercise influence without the transparency of a formal appointments commission.Speaking at a colloquium titled ‘Who Will Judge the Judges’, organised by the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai on Saturday, Chandru said the government had found the existing system more advantageous than the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), which the Supreme Court struck down in 2015.“Since then, all 38 judges of Supreme Court and all judges of high courts were directly appointed by Modi, not the collegium,” Chandru alleged, as quoted by The Times of India.Chandru was referring to the constitutional dispute over the composition of the body responsible for recommending judicial appointments. The Modi government introduced the NJAC after coming to power in 2014, seeking to replace the collegium with a commission that included representatives of the executive. The Supreme Court subsequently invalidated the legislation, restoring the collegium system.Chandru said the government had made no attempt to revive the NJAC because it had found ways to influence appointments under the existing arrangement. He criticised the secrecy surrounding the collegium, which consists of senior judges who recommend appointments to the higher judiciary.“There are 38 judges in SC and about 1,000 judges in HCs. The entire appointment process takes place, without anyone knowing anything, through a collegium system which is not recognised by constitution. It is the best-ever-kept secret in the country,” he said.Former Orissa high court chief justice S. Muralidhar, who also addressed the colloquium, cited the government’s handling of judicial appointments as an illustration of executive influence over the process. According to DT Next, Muralidhar said the government had tightened its control over appointments since May 2014, despite the Supreme Court’s decision to preserve the collegium.He cited the appointment of Justice K.M. Joseph to the Supreme Court in 2018. Joseph, then chief justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, and senior advocate Indu Malhotra had been recommended for elevation in the same collegium resolution on January 10, 2018. While Malhotra’s appointment was cleared, Joseph’s recommendation was held back for months.“The myth that judges appoint judges has been broken,” Muralidhar said, according to DT Next. He criticised the collegium for not publicly challenging the government when its recommendations were delayed or overlooked.Muralidhar also questioned the lack of diversity in the Supreme Court, criticising former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud for not recommending a woman judge for elevation during his tenure. “Diversity is only for public consumption,” he said.Note: An earlier version of this piece had misidentified the persons in the main image.