Collegium system needs reform: Debate

A debate on the now-struck down National Judicial Appointments Commission today saw participants sharply divided on the collegium system of choosing judges with events its supporters admitting that it has some faults and needed reform.
The participants--Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who had sharply criticised the recent Supreme Court judgement, former CJI R M Lodha and jurists Soli Sorabjee and Rajeev Dhawan-- felt there was need to correct the flaws in the system of judges appointing judges.
The "National Debate" was organised by Times Now news channel in the wake of the Supreme Court last week striking down as unconstitutional the NJAC Act passed by Parliament. It also witnessed repeated sparring between Jaitley and Dhawan.

Justice Lodha conceded that the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts was "opaque and secretive" and said the appointments and the procedure adopted can be put in the public domain or provided under RTI to bring in transparency.
"True, the (collegium) system is opaque and secretive. There are faults... The three faults are lack of transparency, lack of an expert body like a standing committee, to help the collegium and the executive's indifferent role in the participatory process," Justice Lodha.
He said that while he respects the executive, he was of the view the judiciary "has to be insulated" from political interference or pressure, and added that interference by executive has to be "nominal".

Justice Lodha said though the NJAC Act has been set aside, it was still open for the executive and the legislature to devise an alternate method of appointing judges.
Opposing the collegium, Jaitley said it was full of flaws and while the nation needed an independent judiciary, its credibility was more important.
"To be independent is important. To be credible is more important. We all know there was a CBI Director who was independent but not credible," he said.