Overview

• SCBA president Vikas Singh wrote on September 12 to CJI BR Gavai and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal calling for immediate finalisation of the Memorandum of Procedure for Supreme Court and High Court appointments.
• The letter says the collegium system has structural flaws that undermine merit, including the routine overlooking of Supreme Court Bar lawyers for elevation to their home High Courts and the neglect of briefing counsels and juniors.
• It flags stark diversity gaps, citing official data that women comprised 9.5% of High Court judges and 2.94% of Supreme Court judges as of February 2024.
• The SCBA proposes four MoP reforms: permanent independent secretariats, a public application-based process, published eligibility criteria, and a grievance redressal mechanism.
• Citing the Supreme Court’s 2016 Advocates-on-Record Association judgment, the SCBA frames its plan as institutional safeguards rather than an overhaul, and no adoption of the proposals has been announced.