Status quo

OF all who know one's worth
One's colleagues are the best
You realise you have made it
If you successfully pass their test

So when the collegium names
Those it deems to be most fit
One would tend to imagine
That that's the end of it

But no,that's just the beginning
A recommendation is just that
It passes through many hands
Till the file of notings grows fat

Till then the one recommended
Experiences uncertainty,anguish
As it is just impossible to know
Which file will sail,which languish

Some names just keep floating
While some sink and some sail
We wish things were transparent
But such efforts are of no avail

Pity the plight of those judges
Who will be retiring very soon
To be Chief even for a month
Is nothing short of a boon

The lure of post-retirement perks
Has been the bane of our Nation
But becoming Chief somewhere
Is the ticket to bag Arbitration

If everything was fair and open
All would be well and good
Why we cling to this status quo
Is what needs to be understood