A landmark law to replace the collegium system of appointing judges was on Wednesday passed in the Lok Sabha after the government accommodated the Congress' objection dropping its veto power.
The controversial provision required unanimity in recommendation if the president seeks reconsideration of name of judge selected by the panel. The Rajya Sabha is expected to approve the twin Bills that give constitutional status to the proposed appointment commission on Thursday before it is sent to president Pranab Mukherjee.
There was total unanimity in the Lok Sabha with 311 voting for and none against it, satisfying the constitutional requirement of two-third present and voting.
Apart from president's approval, the Constitution Bill requires subsequent ratification by a minimum of half the state legislatures (15 states), to be part of a statute book. Till then judges' appointments shall continue to be made by the judges collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India.
The new law that envisages setting up of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), will also be headed by the CJI with two senior Supreme Court judges, law minister and two eminent persons.
The opposition had opposed Clause 7 of the Bill that had mandated the Commission's unanimous recommendation on the president requiring reconsideration. It was felt the Clause would be open to misuse by the law minister as one of the members of the proposed 6-member Commission. Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad replaced it with another clause that prohibits recommendation of a person if any two members do not agree.
ONE IS DISSENT, TWO VOICE OF REASON: Even on another clause why majority should not prevail, the minister said it is based on the 1998 judgment of the Supreme Court bringing the collegium system as it lays down that the CJI won't persist with a name if two or more judge member of the collegium dissent.
"The principle is that if one objects, he is a dissenter, but two is a voice of reason," he remarked while replying to the day-long debate on the NJAC and related Constitution Amendment Bill.
On many members seeking reservation in judiciary since very few are selected as judges from the categories of SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and women, the minister announced that the NJAC office will prepare the data bank of the lawyers of these categories and send the names to the High Court collegium when it considers names for recommending judges for high courts.
As regards a demand by many wanting an all-India cadre of judges for lower courts, he said the issue has been nagging for the past 40 years as many chief ministers feel encroachment on their power to appoint such judges. Yet, he assured to try to evolve a consensus for such a cadre.
Pointing out that many eminent Chief Justices of the High Courts are not elevated to the Supreme Court because it is done strictly on the basis of seniority, Prasad said that is why that the Bill gives flexibility by laying down that the NJAC shall consider "ability, merit and any other criteria of suitability" and not seniority alone to recommend the names.
On members objecting to the secretary of department of justice making references regarding the vacancies and be the commission's convener as encroachment on the independence of judiciary and wanting the job handled by the Registrar General of the Supreme Court, the minister said the department maintains the list of the retiring judges and hence such a provision has been made. The government is not doing anything to have confrontation with the judiciary, he added.
PM votes for first time in Lok Sabha in 10 yrs
For the first time in 10 years, the prime minister voted in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Narendra Modi participated in the voting on the Constitution amendment bill to scrap the collegium system of judicial appointments. His predecessor Manmohan Singh could not vote in the Lower House as he was a member of the Rajya Sabha throughout his tenure. The process took a longer time than it usually takes as due to non-allocation of division numbers, the electronic voting system could not be used. Incidentally, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were not present during the voting.
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