Clamour against Collegium feeble attempt to hide government ‘dereliction and failure’, says Justice Datta

Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) lashed out at critics in the Union government who claim that the Collegium system of judicial appointment is an insular mechanism of "judges appointing judges", saying the judiciary cannot always be at the receiving end of the Executive.

“The oft-repeated phrase that ‘Judges appoint Judges’ is a myth which people have been fed by vested interests through motivated narratives, often drawing sustenance from certain controversial decisions taken in this century in relation to appointment of judges,” Justice Datta observed.

The observations were part of his separate opinion in a split verdict on the legality of a 2023 law on appointments of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.