In August 2014, the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 was introduced by Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law and Justice, in the Lok Sabha. This Bill deals with the procedural aspect related to appointment of Chief Justice of India and High Courts as well as judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
The constitutional makers wanted the executive to appoint the judges after consulting the judiciary and hence, through Articles 124 and 217, the concept was enshrined in the Constitution of India, 1950. In May this year, Senior Advocate Rajeev Dhavan said, “Selection of lay persons who know nothing about the working of judiciary by a body with a majority of politicians militates against the purity of judicial standards, which is the cornerstone of judicial independence.”
In USA, the appointment of judges is a political process while in UK, the Judicial Appointments Commission has 5 out of 15 members as judges, the Chairman being not a judge. This makes it clear that the process has been made rather democratic and judges are left with the power of interpretation of laws.
Lastly, it may also help to overcome the drawbacks related to lack of transparency of Collegium system.
- Roopali Mohan, 2nd Year, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, New Delhi.