NJAC: Govt surprised, mixed reaction from legal fraternity
18 Oct 2015 4:16 AM IST
The Supreme Court verdict quashing the new law on appointment of judges on Friday was dubbed by a “surprised” government as a “setback to parliamentary sovereignty” while it drew mixed responses from the legal fraternity and political parties. Reflecting Government’s disagreement with the verdict that brings back the collegium system after the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act was struck down as unconstitutional, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi called it “flawed”.
Expressing surprise over the order striking down the law to appoint judges to the higher judiciary, <g data-gr-id="16">government</g> also questioned the transparency of the previous collegium system.
Congress reacted cautiously to the verdict, saying that the collegium system which will now be restored is “shrouded in secrecy”.
Its chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala, however, used the verdict to target the Narendra Modi government saying the judgement implicitly reflected “lack of confidence” in the government which has “eroded” institutional autonomy and constitutional safeguards over last 17 months.
Welcoming the verdict, former Chief Justice of India Justice Altamas Kabir and ex-Supreme Court Judge Justice A K Ganguly expressed pride in the Indian judicial system saying the decision restored independence of judiciary, a view not shared by former Delhi High Court judge Justice R S Sodhi, who said the verdict shows lack of trust on Parliament’s maturity.
Collegium system opaque: justice Chelameswar
The Collegium system of judges appointment is "opaque" which needs "transparency", Supreme Court judge Justice J Chelameswar on Friday said. He said the assumption that "primacy of the judiciary" in the appointment of judges is a basic feature of Constitution "is empirically flawed." He said proceedings of the collegium were absolutely "opaque and inaccessible" to the people at large.
Next Story
