Report No. 80
7.4. Persons with political affiliations.-
Question, then, arises as to whether persons who once had affiliations with a political party should be debarred altogether from consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court. We have given the matter our consideration, and are of the view that affiliation in remote past of a person otherwise suitable should not disqualify him for this purpose. The position should, however, be different if the person has till recently been active in political life.
After having considered the various pros and cons, we are of the view that no one should be appointed to the Supreme Court as a judge unless for a period of not less than seven years he has snapped all affiliations with political parties and unless during the preceding period of seven years he has distinguished himself for his independence, dispassionate approach and freedom from political prejudice, bias or leaning. This would provide a sufficient assurance that his past political affiliation would not colour his judicial pronouncements.
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