PM to soon hold meeting for naming eminent members to NJAC

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India H L Dattu and Congress's leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, are likely to meet "sometime" next week to nominate two eminent persons to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, the new body for appointing judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts.
Highly-placed sources in the government said today that Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda has already approached Kharge, the leader of the single-largest opposition party in Lok Sabha, to participate in the meeting.
Gowda is likely to approach Justice Dattu to seek his time for the meeting of the committee.

"The committee is likely to meet sometime next week where the names will be discussed. The meeting will be convened by the Prime Minister," the sources said.
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.