NJAC's 2 eminent persons to get Rs 10,000 per sitting

Two eminent persons to be part of the new body to appoint senior judges will get a fee of Rs 10,000 per sitting and their allowances will be equal to those enjoyed by a Supreme Court judge, a government order has said.
The notification of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (Fees and Allowances Payable to Eminent Persons) Rules comes in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi planning to convene the meeting of the committee "sometime" this week to nominate two eminent persons to the new body which has replaced the over two-decade-old collegium system to appoint Supreme Court and high court judges.

The committee to nominate two eminent persons will be chaired by the prime minister and will have Chief Justice of India H L Dattu and Leader of Single Largest Opposition Party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge of Congress as its members.
The order said the two eminent persons will get Rs 10,000 as fee per sitting subject to a ceiling of Rs 60,000 per month.
They will also be entitled to travelling and daily allowance as enjoyed by judges of the Supreme Court.
The government had on April 13 brought into force the controversial law to appoint members to the higher judiciary, a task which so far had been the responsibility of a five- member Supreme Court Collegium.

According to the new Article 124A inserted in the Constitution, two eminent persons will be nominated to the Commission as members by the committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha or, where there is no LoP, the leader of the single largest Opposition party.

One of the eminent persons will be nominated from among Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minorities or women. The eminent persons will be nominated for a period of three years and would not be eligible for renomination.
NJAC will be headed by the Chief Justice of India. Two senior-most apex court judges, the two eminent persons and the Law Minister will be the members of the high-level panel. The Secretary (Justice) in the Law Ministry will be the convener of the NJAC.

NJAC will have to ratify the rules governing its functioning in its first meetings before they are notified. The draft rules are ready with the government. A government bungalow on Mathura Road has been allotted to the new body.