Judicial appointment panel case goes to constitutional bench

Plea had questioned the process adopted in passing the act that would replace judges’ collegiums

GN Bureau | April 7, 2015


#Supreme Court   #judges appointment   #National Judicial Appointment Commission act   #Fali Nariman   #Anil Dave   #Mukul Rohatgi   #constitutional bench  


A three-judge bench of justices A R Dave, J Chelameswar and Madan B Lokur, which had reserved its judgement on the National Judicial Appointment Commission act (NJAC) and constitutional amendment of Article 124 A, has referred the matter to a five-judges constitutional bench.

The court also refused to stay operation of NJAC Act meant to replace collegium system of judges appointing judges.

The verdict was reserved on March 24 after Attorney General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, wrapped up his arguments saying that the pleas be dismissed as they were "premature" and "academic" in nature.

The Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA)and Bar Association of India (BAI), represented by Fali Nariman and Anil Divan respectively, had opposed the two Acts and sought that direction be passed to maintain status quo, saying the entire process would otherwise become irreversible.

However, the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) had strongly favoured the government on laws on appointment of judges in higher judiciary, saying there has been "unanimity" that the present mechanism has "serious pitfalls".

There is unanimity in the view that there are serious pitfalls in the collegium system," SCBA president and senior advocate Dushyant Dave had submitted.

Those opposing the new law had submitted that the issue should be referred to a Constitution Bench of five judges. Nariman and Divan had contended that as per constitutional scheme, the NJAC Act should not have been passed ahead of enabling constitutional amendment. "Where was the authority to pass the NJAC Act," Nariman had asked. According to him the Act should have been passed after the constitutional amendment.

However, the AG had argued that the power of Parliament to make law is "plenary" and hence, the methodology adopted by the legislature in clearing the law on the floor of the House cannot be "tested" by the court. Rohatgi submitted that "Only end product can be examined by the courts and it is irrelevant that this Act was passed earlier and that Act was passed later."

"Only an Act, after notification, can be tested in the court of law and not the procedures adopted by the Parliament," the Attorney General had submitted.

The apex court had said it could proceed on the merits of the matter only after deciding whether the petitions challenging the validity of the act and the NJAC act were maintainable or not.

Comments

 

Other News

India’s forest cover increases by 5,516 sq km in four years

The Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI), an organization under the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, carries out the assessment of forest cover biennially since 1987 and the findings are published in the India State of Forest Report (ISFR). As per the latest ISFR 2021, there is a

Steps taken to meet higher power demand of April-May

While the average growth of energy requirement in the country for 2023-24 viz-a-viz 2022-23 has been estimated as 4.9%, the months of April and May have been projected as high demand period. During the current year, the peak demand is expected to be around 229 GW during the summer period. The government ha

Millets to make comeback in army ration after half a century

As the UN has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Indian Army has steered introduction of millets flour in the rations of soldiers. This landmark decision will ensure troops are supplied with native and traditional grains after over half a century, when these were discontinued in favour

Central Bank Digital Currency has game-changing potential

When discussing digital currency, you might think of one or two well-known varieties. There is the digital representation of currency that you access with mobile and online banking services. This currency is the liability of a commercial bank. There is also cryptocurrency, a digital medium of exchange issu

An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years: The Endgame

The Indian President: An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years By K.C. Singh HarperCollins, 312 pages, Rs.699  

‘My Father Was a Simple Man’: Remembering Gen. Rawat

Bipin: The Man Behind the Uniform By Rachna Bisht Rawat Penguin, 207 pages, Rs 599 On the morning of 8 December 202

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook    Twitter    Google Plus    Linkedin    Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter