The Supreme Court’s recent decision to scrap the setting up of a National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) came under attack Monday from Lok Sabha MPs across party lines, one of whom called the decision “a slap on the face of the people of this country”. It came up during a discussion on the High Court and the Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill 2015, which was later passed by a voice vote. “We all know our judiciary is under tremendous strain. I am not sitting in judgment of the judiciary. They are judging all of us,” said Dhenkanal Tathagata Satpathy (BJD). “They are even judging the House, which is the voice of the people. Decrying or negating the NJAC is not only a slap on the government or the House but also a slap on the face of the people of this country.” As a result of the court striking down the law “on the ground that it is violating the basic feature of the Constitution”, K Kamaraj (AIADMK) said, “we do not have a credible and foolproof system for appointment and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts”. He then urged the government to “bring about a new and credible NJAC Bill with a provision to set up a state-level commission for appointment of high court judges.” Ravindra Babu (TDP) said, “We are accountable to the people. Judiciary is not accountable. So many times, they have interfered in the functioning of the august House.” He added that the “people of the country are supreme” and that the “collective will of the people is in Parliament”. M I Shanavas (Congress) asked Law Minister Sadananda Gowda “what happened to the NJAC”. “We all discussed it here. Is the government afraid of somebody? Is the government afraid of the judiciary?. The entire country supported that Act, but there is nobody to resist as they decided,” Shanavas said. He added the system has been subverted in some high courts “for the purpose of ‘Breaking News’. “ It has become a habit of judges to utter comments and observations for appearing in the press and television discussions.” N K Premachandran (RSP) said he supported the view expressed by Gowda and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that “it is the tyranny of the unelected”. “There is no doubt about it because the entire Parliament and 20 state assemblies have approved the Constitution amendment but in a five-member bench four judges decided the will of the people will not survive and only their interest will survive, their decision will be final,” Premachandran said. Gowda said, “Till the final verdict comes out from the Supreme Court, we are not in a position to debate that issue. But what they have said is that there are certain deficiencies in the collegium system and so, you may give your suggestions so that they will get it rectified.”
