The corridors of power have gone quiet this summer—but inside a circle of three, the Supreme Court’s Collegium is anything but on vacation. With vacancies piling up across High Courts and scandals refusing to let go of the judicial robe, the Collegium has sharpened its knives—not for battle, but for dissection.
Chaired by Chief Justice BR Gavai, with Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath by his side, the trio is digging deeper than ever into the men and women lined up for judgeship. Gone are the days when a file, a polite nod from a senior, and an Intelligence Bureau footnote could tip the scales. Now, it’s long hours and pointed questions—resumes combed through line by line, areas of legal work examined with forensic curiosity.
These interviews—some virtual, some across the table—have stretched past the 30-minute mark, turning what used to be a procedural chat into something that feels more like an oral exam for a lifetime appointment. The trigger? Allegations swirling around Justice Yashwant Varma, particularly the whispers about unaccounted cash linked to his name, have cast a long shadow over the selection process. The Collegium’s response? No more shadows, only searchlights.
The new normal is longer, tougher, and less reliant on whispers from the IB or nods from the State. Face-to-face is the rule, not the exception. It began under the stewardship of former CJI Sanjiv Khanna and has only deepened since. With 371 vacancies across 25 High Courts as of July 1, the urgency is undeniable—but so is the wariness. The reputation of the judiciary is on the line, and the Collegium isn’t in the mood for risks.
But even as the bench takes a tougher line, the pushback hasn’t ceased. Delays from the Central government in clearing Collegium recommendations remain a sore point, sometimes so prolonged that candidates simply back away. Justice Dipankar Datta recently let the frustration slip, saying the external pressures stalling these decisions must be tackled with firmness.
For now, the message from the top is clear: No shortcuts. No soft questions. And no more blind trust. The robe must be earned, not handed out.