Judicial Appointments Commission gets Lok Sabha nod

New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Wednesday gave its consent to the constitutional amendment that seeks to establish a National Judicial Appointments Commission, which would give the executive a voice in the appointment of judges that has, until now, been the judiciary’s prerogative.

The commission, once constituted, will replace the existing collegium system with a six-member body deciding on the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts.

The proposed six-member commission will be headed by the chief justice of India. Two more judges of the Supreme Court, the law minister and two eminent persons will fill the remaining five seats.

The draft legislation got the support of 311 members in the 543-member lower house. No one present in the Lok Sabha voted against it.

A constitutional amendment requires the support of more than half of the total strength of the house and two-thirds of the total number present.

To allay apprehensions from some quarters about who would be the two eminent persons who have been given a voice in the appointment process, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said “high-ranking people” including the chief justice, the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, whose “collective judgement” should be trusted, will be involved in the process of choosing them.

Dispelling concerns that the proposed commission does not have provisions for members from among scheduled castes and tribes, other backward classes and women, Prasad said he would take care of the issue when the regulations are framed. He also said a data bank of lawyers from these sections of society will be maintained by the commission.

While the Congress supported the legislation in the Lok Sabha, its passage in the Rajya Sabha, where the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and its partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), may not be smooth.

Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi accused the BJP of hypocrisy, noting that the party, when it was in the opposition, had blocked similar legislation that the previous United Progressive Alliance government sought to introduce.

“Secondly, there are significant changes in introducing two vetoes. These are likely to impinge on judicial independence...I intend to flag (the issue) strongly in the Rajya Sabha debate. Thirdly, the mode and manner of pushing this Bill through in a hurry is to be deprecated.”

The amendment proposes that if a candidate is rejected by any two members of the commission, he or she will not be considered for the post.

While the treasury benches were full, many in the opposition were absent on Wednesday. There were only 11 members of the Congress present during voting, and both Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi left the house before the voting took place. The move by the government to scrap the collegium system of choosing judges for the higher courts have not been viewed favourably by all experts.

“If system one has failed, what is the guarantee that the second system will work?” lawyer A.S. Chandhiok asked. “The government should propose parameters for selection of judges. If the decision is left to the whim of five, six or 10 people, the same bargain exists. The real issues is, how do we strengthen the judiciary? How do we make the institution more transparent and ensure that people of integrity and capability adorn the bench?”

Chandhiok’s views were echoed by advocate Prashant Bhushan. “This gives the executive a veto in the matter of appointments. The law minister can alone effectively prevent an appointment even when the other five members are on one side. This compromises the independence of the judiciary,” Bhushan said. “Secondly, it does not account for the major problems. You need a full-time body for this. This (the proposed commission) is an ex-officio body. Thirdly, there is no transparency. A minimum transparency is required. Names of the shortlisted members should be disclosed on the website, so that people can send information about them. Undesirable candidates don’t get selected then.”

The BJP predictably welcomed the passage of the constitutional amendment through the Lok Sabha. “This Bill will help strengthen the independence of judiciary. For the last 24 years, various governments had tried to bring this bill and now it is a reality,” party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. “The questions being raised on the appointments in judiciary will stop now because of this bill.”