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The government on Monday introduced the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014, after it withdrew the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, introduced by the previous United Progressive Alliance government, from the Rajya Sabha.
Though the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is eager to pass the new Bill, to replace the existing collegium system of appointment by judges, in the remaining three days of this session, the Congress is in no mood to give it a smooth passage. The Congress is bent on sending the Bill to a standing committee, as the issue could be discussed threadbare there. "There are only three days left and it is a sensitive issue, it cannot be passed in a hurry," said senior Congress leader Anand Sharma.
The government's move came on a day when Chief Justice R M Lodha hit out at "a deliberate campaign to defame the judiciary". "There is a misleading campaign going across to defame the judiciary, and repeated attempts have been made to spread incorrect information," he said. Defending the collegium system, Lodha said, "Don't shake people's confidence in the judiciary. For god's sake, don't try to defame the judiciary."
The likes of Justice Markandey Katju have been consistently targeting the higher judiciary on appointments, protecting corrupt judges, etc.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad moved the Bill that would "regulate the procedure to be followed by the National Judicial Appointments Commission for recommending persons for appointment as the Chief Justice of India and other judges of the Supreme Court and chief justices and other judges of high courts and for their transfers."
The new Bill proposes to establish a six-member body the NJAC, which will be headed by CJI. Besides the CJI, the judiciary would be represented by two senior judges of the apex court. Two eminent personalities and the law minister will be the other members. To allay fears of the judiciary, the composition of the commission has been given a constitutional status. The two eminent personalities will be selected by a collegium of CJI, the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha or the leader of the single-largest opposition party in the Lower House.
Prasad proposed to withdraw the earlier Bill, stating that it had no constitutional status and hence the need to bring in a new Bill as well as a constitutional amendment for ushering in a new system of appointment.
While the Congress opposed the move, other opposition parties such as Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Left parties supported the government. The Congress argued that instead of withdrawing it, it should amend the existing Bill.
Sharma asserted that the party had sought clarifications and not opposed the government's move. "If we behaved obstructionist like what the BJP had done when (they were) in Opposition, then the House would not function."
