Bills to scrap collegium system introduced in LS

Keen to scrap the collegium system, government today introduced two legislations including a Constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha to establish a six-member body for appointment of judges to higher judiciary.
The government's move comes in the midst of a raging controversy over the current collegium system of appointments, which was strongly defended by the Chief Justice of India today and criticism from various sections about judges appointing judges.
The urgency with which the government introduced the bills could be seen from the fact that rules were suspended and a supplementary agenda was circulated late in the evening in the Lok Sabha hours after a related bill of the UPA government was withdrawn from the Rajya Sabha.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad introduced the two bills one of which was titled National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014. For passage in Parliament, the constitutional amendment bill requires two-thirds majority while an ordinary bill requires a simple majority.
While The Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill, 2014 seeks to put the proposed Commission and its entire composition in the Constitution, the other legislation lays down the procedure to be followed by the proposed body for appointment of Supreme Court judges and transfer and appointment of Chief Justices and other judges of the High Courts.