SC lawyers body plea to declare NJAC invalid

The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) has filed a writ petition
seeking a declaration that the Constitution 99th Amendment Act, 2014, providing
constitutional status to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, is invalid, void and
unconstitutional.
Why?

The petition contends that by passing the NJAC Bill, Parliament had altered the basic
structure of the Constitution and encroached into judicial independence.

How judicial independence is being encroached:

Independence of the judiciary includes the necessity to eliminate political influence

even at the stage of appointment of a judge. This is being violated.
The amendment, as passed by the two houses of Parliament, takes away the primacy
of the collective opinion of the Chief Justice of India and the two senior most Judges
of the Supreme Court of India.
Although the six-member Commission had the CJI as chairperson and two senior
most Supreme Court judges as members, there was no primacy for them. Even their
collective recommendation of a candidate as judge could be frozen if any two nonjudicial members on the panel vetoed it.
The petition said the NJAC Act did not give any suitability criteria for appointment
as judge, leaving it to the Commission to frame them. It sought a return to the
recommendations of the 2002 Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah Committee in which
the NJAC was composed of five members.

Background:

The association had, in August last year, challenged the NJAC law. But the SC had
said it was too premature as the States were yet to ratify it. However, the Supreme
Court had given the association liberty to approach it at a later stage.
The NJAC, which restores the political class role in the appointment of judges to the
Supreme Court and the High Courts, has received the Presidents assent after
ratification by 16 State legislatures. Both the Constitution Amendment Bill and the
NJAC Bill were passed by Parliament in August 2014.

About the NJAC and constitution amendment Bill:

NJAC is a proposed body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher
judiciary in India. JAC Bill seeks to replace the collegium system of appointing the judges of
Supreme Court and 24 High Courts with judicial appointments commission wherein the
executive will have a say in appointing the judges.

A new article, Article 124A, (which provides for the composition of the NJAC) will
be inserted into the Constitution.
The Bill provides for the procedure to be followed by the NJAC for recommending
persons for appointment as Chief Justice of India and other Judges of the Supreme
Court (SC), and Chief Justice and other Judges of High Courts (HC).

The amendment bill seeks changes in articles 124,217,222 and 231.

According to the bill the commission will consist of the following members:

Chief Justice of India (Chairperson, ex officio)

Two other senior judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India ex
officio
The Union Minister of Law and Justice, ex-officio
Two eminent persons (to be nominated by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice
of India, Prime Minister of India and the Leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha or
where there is no such Leader of Opposition, then, the Leader of single largest
Opposition Party in Lok Sabha), provided that of the two eminent persons, one person
would be from the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes or OBC or minority
communities or a woman. The eminent persons shall be nominated for a period of
three years and shall not be eligible for re-nomination.

Functions of the Commission:

Recommending persons for appointment as Chief Justice of India, Judges of the

Supreme Court, Chief Justices of High Courts and other Judges of High Courts.
Recommending transfer of Chief Justices and other Judges of High Courts from one
High Court to any other High Court.
Ensuring that the persons recommended are of ability and integrity.

Under the present Collegium system, the Chief Justice of India would consult the four senior
most judges of the Supreme Court for Supreme Court appointments and two senior-most
judges for high court appointments.
How the NJAC will help:

The NJAC, once it came into existence, is expected to usher in transparency in

judicial appointments in the highest courts and end the highest judiciarys twodecade-old grip over appointments of judges through the collegium system.
It would restore an equal role for the executive in higher judicial appointments.

Sources: The Hindu, Wiki, prsindia.org.