SC junks NJAC, restores collegium system of judge selection

Moneycontrol BureauIn a historic judgment, the Constitutional bench of the Supreme Court struck down National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) and restored the two-decade-old collegium system of judges appointing judges in the higher judiciary. The NJAC has always been a contentious issue, often highlighting the friction between Centre and the judiciary. A five-judge bench headed by Justice J S Khehar, after a marathon hearing for 31 days on the issue of validity of the NJAC Act amendement, found the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act and the NJAC Act 2014 unconstitutional and void with a sole dissent. Four judges – Justices J S Khehar, M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A K Goel – declared the 99th Amendment unconstitutional but Justice J Chelmeswar held it valid. The bench said the collegium system will continue but sought to improve the existing system. The court also refused to refer the matter to a larger bench.  RecapThe Constitution (98th Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the NDA government in 2003. NJAC was born through the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act, passed in August 2014. In the same year Parliament passed the NJAC Act, 2014 in order to regulate the NJAC. Both Acts came into effect from April 13, 2015. NJAC is a constitutional body proposed to replace the present Collegium system of appointing judges whereas under the Collegium system the Chief Justice of India and a forum of four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court recommend appointments and transfers of judges. The Supreme Court Bar Association was in favour of the legislation that would have allowed NJAC to appoint and transfer judges. It would have the power to probe cases of misconduct by judges, including those from the highest judiciary.But Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) and others had filed petitions contending the new legislation would compromise the freedom of judiciary.Reaction"Judiciary must remain independent and cannot be compromised," says former High Court judge RS Sodhi. However, he feels neither the Supreme Court nor Parliament will buckle down easily. Speaking to CNBC-TV18 he said Parliament has the power to pass another bill or even another resolution against the collegium system.Says Ranina: "...no parliamentary law can amend the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Since the judiciary has to play an independent role, they have said that the collegium system functioning for the past many years has worked fairly well and there is no need for Parliament to interfere. So I think it is just a reflection of the basic structure theory of the Constitution that Parliament cannot amend the law ... and this is why the majority judgement has come."