By Rajeev DhavanSo, Congress finally withdrew the Supreme Court petition challenging Rajya Sabha Chairman Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu’s rejection of an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Dipak Misra on Tuesday. Now comes the critical issue that will test the independence of the judiciary in this country: the appointment of K M Joseph to the Supreme Court. From 1947 to 1992, high court puisne judges to the federal court or Supreme Court were almost 50% of the appointments to the apex court. Later, this dipped when in 1993, the Supreme Court’s Appointments Judgment made the apex court the initiator and ultimate arbiter on high court and Supreme Court appointments. The real fear of the government is that Joseph, once appointed, will remain a Supreme Court judge till June 16, 2023.

Source: Economic Times May 08, 2018 18:03 UTC