The prompt for this article came from the Supreme Court of India’s judgment in Arvind Malhotra v. High Court of Himachal Pradesh. The verdict concerned the elevation of a high court judge to the Supreme Court. This can and should be done through a process that elevates experienced and competent judges who are not aligned with a particular political position or the government of the day.

In Arvind Malhotra, the applicant, an experienced judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, was aggrieved that a judge junior to him had been elevated to the SC in preference to him. He alleged that the appointee was seen as supporting the current government.

The SC judges were not sympathetic to the applicant. They pointed out that the high court collegium had recommended the elevation and that the apex court’s collegium had approved the decision. The SC cautioned that confidentiality in the judicial appointment process was necessary to preserve its integrity. This reasoning inspired me to write this article.

I am a retired judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. I was also involved in the process that led to the drafting of South Africa’s new constitution and advised the Constitutional Assembly on the appointment process for........

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