Former Supreme Court judge Justice VR Krishna Iyer on Saturday strongly pleaded for having an appointment commission to make the selection of judges transparent.
The appointment panel should select the judges strictly on the basis of "spotless merit", Iyer said delivering a lecture on 'Humane Judge' held here in the memory of first Attorney General M C Setalvad.
"It is necessary to scrutinise antecedents of a judge and his other social factors before being sure of his neutrality, humanism and social philosophy," the 94-year-old former Apex Court judge said at the function organised by Bar Association of India.
Competent persons of a high level of public credibility and high sense of morality should be members of the commission, he said.
He also spoke in favour of judges declaring their wealth.
Referring to rules unanimously adopted at the Chief Justices' conference and approved by Supreme Court judges, he said this can be the basis or preliminary criteria for the recruitment of judges.
The commission should have access to information about antecedents, family background, assets and business relations of the judges before their appointment, he said.