Has The Government-Judiciary Rift Widened?

Our big focus tonight is on the crisis in the judiciary and the confrontation with the government. A huge row has broken out after the government returned to the Supreme Court collgium its recommendation to make the Uttarakhand Chief Justice a judge of the top court. The centre cleared the name of another judge Indu Malhotra who will take oath tomorrow, but its rejection of Justice KM Joseph's name has created a storm with many lawyers calling it an attempt to encroach on the independence of the judiciary. The government has given several reasons for returning Justice Joseph's name, including that he's not the most senior nor the most meritorious and the Chief Justice has said there is nothing wrong with what the government has done. The ball is now in the collegium's court. If they send back Justice Joseph's name to the centre, the government has to accept it, though they can delay the appointment for a long time.