Interacting with judicial candidates helpful: CJI

Chief Justice of India (Cll) Bhushan R Gavai on Friday described the collegium’s recent practice of personally interacting with candidates being considered for high court appointments as “really helpful,” saying that even a brief 10-15 minute conversation can reveal how suitable a nominee would be in contributing to society.

- Utkarsh Anand

Speaking at the Supreme Court complex during Independence Day celebrations, the CJI underlined that the exercise, revived in December 2024 and now firmly embedded in the appointments process, has strengthened the collegium’s ability to assess candidates’ temperament, outlook and commitment beyond what can be gleaned from service records or paper credentials.

“In our opinion, after interaction with them for 10-15 minutes, or half an hour, we can find out as to how suitable they will be to contribute to society,” he said, noting that the practice was initiated during Justice Sanjiv Khanna’s tenure and has been continued under his leadership.