Want govt representatives in SC Collegium, Law Min writes to CJI

In his letter, Kiren Rijiju suggests that Union govt representatives be included in the SC Collegium and state govt representatives in the HC Collegium

NEW DELHI: Law minister Kiren Rijiju has written to the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud for the inclusion of government nominees in the collegium system on appointments to the higher judiciary and defended it as a “precise follow-up action” suggested by the apex court while striking down the NJAC Act.

Rijiju’s early January letter to the CJI and the remarks on Monday come amid a tug-ofwar between the government and the judiciary over the process of appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts.

At present, the collegium comprises CJI Chandrachud, and Justices S K Kaul, K M Joseph, M R Shah, Ajay Rastogi and Sanjiv Khanna.

As the back and forth between the apex court and Law ministry prolongs, the NJAC Act has been at the centre of discussions. Passed by Parliament and quashed by the Supreme Court in 2015, the Act had envisioned two-government representatives in the body that will appoint judges.

Besides several Union ministers, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar has slammed the 2015 scrapping of the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) by the apex court and claimed that the judiciary was encroaching on the domain of the legislature.

The Opposition, however, hit out at the move, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh saying that while reforms were needed, the government’s remedy was a “poison pill” for the independent judiciary. It also alleged that it was an “orchestrated confrontation” by the government to “capture” the judiciary.