SC moved challenging NJAC

The Supreme Court was Thursday moved seeking the quashing of the bill for setting up the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) for the appointment of judges to the apex court and high courts as passed by parliament to replace the collegium system.

Petitioner advocate M.L. Sharma also challenged the constitutional amendment backing the setting up of the NJAC in place of the existing collegium system.

The petitioner sought a declaration that the bill for setting up the NJAC and the constitutional amendment were mala fide, arbitrary as protector for corruption, unconstitutional and contrary to the basic structure of the constitution.

Referring to article 50 of the constitution which says "the State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the state", the petitioner said the apex court had earlier held that article 50 means the government, which is the cause of more than half the litigation, cannot be permitted to have any control over the appointment of judges.

Sharma further contended that 186 members of parliament are having pending criminal cases against them. They include members of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he said.

He said the judiciary was seized of several financial scams, including coal block, Adarsh Society scam, black money laundered to tax havens etc., and in no law abiding society, the appointment of judges could be allowed to be hijacked by the government.