SC COLLEGIUM VS NJAC ISSUE TAKES CENTRE STAGE AGAIN

Exactly one year ago, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar had also made a big statement in the heated debate going on between the Central Government and the Supreme Court on the issue of judicial appointments.

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Referring to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and the apex court’s 2015

judgment striking down the 99th Amendment, Vice President Dhankhar had asked how the judiciary can strike down a unanimously passed constitutional provision that overrides the “will of the people”. This was the same time when the then Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had said that only the NJAC could provide a transparent alternative to the decades-old collegium system.

There is a continuous tussle going on between the government and the Supreme Court regarding appointments in the Higher Judiciary. The Supreme Court itself has heard this matter and also given warnings to the government. Now the question arises why this matter suddenly came into limelight again after a year.

The first step of this story starts with the address of President Draupadi Murmu in the programme organised in the Supreme Court on the Constitution Day. President Draupadi Murmu talked about the establishment of All India Judicial Service for the appointment of judges. He said appointments in the judiciary should be ‘merit based’ and transparency in the entire process is necessary.