BackLok Sabha to vote on Bill for judges appointments on Wednesday
The debate on National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2014 was concluded on Tuesday
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New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday concluded the debate on the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014, which seeks to replace the existing collegium system of appointing judges under which the judiciary had the final say in the appointment process.
The legislation is likely to be approved by the lower House of Parliament on Wednesday.
The Bill was of “great historic importance" and was the culmination of preparations that had taken 20 years, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. The collegium system had been in place since 1993. The debate on the Bill, which drew support from nearly all political parties, lasted for nearly two hours.
However, the passage of the Bills might not be smooth as concerns on the identity and qualification of “eminent persons" were expressed by many members.
In its current form, the Bill provides that the commission will include two eminent people who will have a say in the appointment of judges. Former minister and Congress party member Veerappa Moily sought clarifications on the qualifications of such a person. “You will have to define who is an eminent person," he said.
Responding to Moily, Prasad said the Chief Justice of India, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition will select them and suggested that one should “trust their collective wisdom".
The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) gave its conditional support to the proposed law. The party wants a similar commission for state-level appointments.
“Our party may not be in a position to support the Bill unless you accept our amendment," M. Thambidurai said, speaking on behalf of the party. He expressed the party’s desire that the commission should be set up at both national and state levels. A state-level commission should also be provided for and it should include the chief minister, according to the party.
Pointing out that the law commission, two parliamentary standing committees and the Administrative Reforms Commission have recommended a collegiate system of appointment of judges, Prasad said none of the architects of the Indian constitution was in favour of giving all powers of appointment to either the Chief Justice or the President of India, but wanted a healthy blend of authorities. He said the role of executive has been limited in the appointment in the current system. “When we say judiciary’s independence is important, we should remember that the sanctity of Parliament is equally important," the minister said.
An area which has garnered attention is the absence of members representing women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities in the commission. Currently, it only provides for the Chief Justice of India, two senior judges of the Supreme Court, the law minister and two eminent persons. Moily also called the Bill “outdated" as it does not provide for women members.
Lawmakers expressed their anguish that since 1993, law ministers had been reduced to “clerks" and only affixed signatures without participating in the appointment process. Drawing applause from the house, Kalyan Banerjee of Trinamool Congress said, “This institution (the political executive) is being attacked by the judiciary without any rhyme and reason", and that politicians cannot act according to “the diktats of a judge".
The collegium system, unique to India, allowed judges to appoint other judges. The recent disclosure of political interference in the appointment process, seniority and merit having been overlooked, nepotism in the process were raised by members in the debate. Questions were also asked about how seniority and merit of judges will be determined. Prasad is likely to respond to the issues on Wednesday, when the voting on the Bills is also scheduled.
The only party that had objections to the legislation was the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM), whose president, Asaduddin Owaisi, said the Bill failed to bring transparency as it was unclear whether the Right to Information Act would be applicable, details of the secretariat were missing and revelation of names of short-listed candidates was not provided for.
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