In October 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the 99th Amendment to the Constitution which created a National Judicial Appointments Commission to govern the appointment of judges. Since then there has been a standoff between the executive and the judiciary on the subsequent. The most recent flashpoint occurred on November 18th 2016 where the Supreme Court collegium returned the names of 43 judges for appointment to various high courts to the Union executive after reconsideration.
Sudhir Krishnaswamy suggests that the Court needs to formulate a strategy of transparency in the appointments process to win over public opinion and perception. A failure to do so could result in an unacceptable loss of autonomy and erode the power that the Court has to keep a check on the executive and the legislature.
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