NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court asked the central government to stop the approach of accepting only some of the collegium recommendations related to judicial appointments and transfers while remaining silent on others. The bench chaired by Justice S K Kaul said the orders issued were not any blithe talk but the unanimous decision from the collegium. Justice Kaul warned of more repercussions if the central government remains idle on this issue. Justice Kaul said he would not hesitate to issue an order and hoped such a situation wouldn’t arise.

The Collegium recommendation should not be withheld because it does not include the names desired by the Centre. Appointment should not be withheld on the basis of political leanings of those on the list.

The court's verbal tirade came while considering a petition by the Bengaluru Advocates Association seeking a deadline for the central government to issue an order accepting the judicial appointment recommendations. The court observed that the appointment of only a ‘selected names’ from the recommendations would affect the seniority of others in the list.

While the collegium recommended the names of five lawyers for appointment as judges of the Punjab-Haryana High Court, the Center approved only three names. The court also pointed out that the first and second names on the list were excluded. The petition was adjourned to November 20. The central government is still stuck on 14 recommendations, including the appointment of high court judges.