Manish Tewari opposes introduction of Judicial Appointments Commission Bill

Congress Manish Tewari today spoke strongly against the introduction of the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill which seeks to replace the existing collegium system.

Tewari told ANI, "In terms of article 368, any amendment to chapter 4 part 5, which deals with the union judiciary, has to be ratified by one half of the states through resolution,", adding, "Till the time the constitution does not get amended, how can the government introduce a bill which then proposes to flesh out as to how judicial appointment should be made and how judicial transfers will be done?"

Union Law minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Monday tabled the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill in the Lok Sabha and it will replace the existing collegium system when it comes into effect.

Earlier, Prasad had told the parliament that the government was keen to set up a committee to appoint judges in the wake of allegations of judicial corruption.

The government's move to scrap the previous Bill on judicial appointments and introduce a new one in the Lok Sabha got mixed reactions from other political parties yesterday.

Justice (Retd) RS Sodhi today said that this bill was a monumental disaster and which will eventually be realized later.