Former Supreme Court judge Abhay S Oka on Tuesday questioned the transparency of the SC roster system, asking how cases are allocated to benches and whether the process leaves room for manual intervention.

“Once there is a roster, the CJI has no right to interfere in it,” Oka said, questioning the absence of clarity on how matters are assigned when multiple benches hear cases involving the same subject. “You don’t know which matter will be assigned to which bench,” he said, asking whether the CJI or the Registry decides the allocation.

Delivering the keynote lecture at an event on the “Accountability of Judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts” organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) in New Delhi, Oka said judicial accountability must extend to the administrative functioning of courts.

“Every dimension of accountability must be strengthened without compromising on judicial independence,” he said.…