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Journalism of Courage
A reboot of judicial appointments is overdue. But Parliament must consider details of the bill closely.
The cabinet has cleared a highly consequential bill that aims to change the process by which senior judges are appointed. Instead of having the judiciary choose its own through a closed collegium system,the proposed judicial appointments commission will be headed by the chief justice of India,and will include the Union law minister,two Supreme Court judges,the law secretary and two eminent persons,who will,in turn,be chosen by the CJI,the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Apparently,this transition has support across the political spectrum,though the details will have to pass parliamentary scrutiny.
An independent judicial appointments commission could avoid both these dangerous tilts. A similar constitutional amendment bill was conceived in 2003 under the NDA,but it lapsed after the Lok Sabha was dissolved in 2004. Now,this bill must be assessed in Parliament,and its details fully wrung out,including the basis on which eminent persons will be chosen. Given the current friction between the political class and the judiciary,these decisions must be taken with utmost care.
