Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday kept up his attack on the collegium system, blaming it for high judicial vacancies, saying the issue will keep cropping up until the procedure of appointment of judges is changed.
He also took a critical view of the Supreme Court taking up all bail applications and “frivolous PILs”, claiming it will add to its burden, which drew sharp comments from legal eagles.
On the collegium system, he said in the Rajya Sabha, “The government has no right to find new names for appointment of judges except the names that have been recommended by the collegium…. I have requested Supreme Court and high court judges to ensure that names of quality judges are sent, and that they include names of women and those belonging to various castes.”
The minister recalled that in 2015, Parliament passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act to reform the system to appoint judges. But the SC struck it down some months later.
Till September 9, the government had appointed 165 HC judges, the highest in a calendar year so far. “Government has recently referred back 20 names to Supreme Court Collegium recommended for appointment as High Court judges….Against 331 vacancies, at present, 147 proposals received from High Courts are at various stages of processing between the Government and the Supreme Court Collegium,” he said.
Reacting to Rijiju’s comment on bail applications, Congress MP Manish Tewari said, “Obviously Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had other pressing preoccupations in Law School other than Law. He perhaps has never read Justice Krishna Iyer’s seminal treatise – bail not jail is the rule.” “Forget NJAC, Govt wants to micromanage judiciary: cut vacations, no priority to bail, et al. What next?” senior advocate Salman Khurshid wondered.
Sibal poser“Rijiju alleged said: Supreme Court must not take up bail pleas ….Does he even know the meaning of liberty?” senior advocate Kapil Sibal tweeted
NEW DELHI: Union law minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday kept up his attack on the collegium system, blaming it for high judicial vacancies, saying the issue will keep cropping up until the procedure of appointment of judges is changed.
He also took a critical view of the Supreme Court taking up all bail applications and “frivolous PILs”, claiming it will add to its burden, which drew sharp comments from legal eagles.
On the collegium system, he said in the Rajya Sabha, “The government has no right to find new names for appointment of judges except the names that have been recommended by the collegium…. I have requested Supreme Court and high court judges to ensure that names of quality judges are sent, and that they include names of women and those belonging to various castes.”
The minister recalled that in 2015, Parliament passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act to reform the system to appoint judges. But the SC struck it down some months later.
Till September 9, the government had appointed 165 HC judges, the highest in a calendar year so far. “Government has recently referred back 20 names to Supreme Court Collegium recommended for appointment as High Court judges….Against 331 vacancies, at present, 147 proposals received from High Courts are at various stages of processing between the Government and the Supreme Court Collegium,” he said.
Reacting to Rijiju’s comment on bail applications, Congress MP Manish Tewari said, “Obviously Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had other pressing preoccupations in Law School other than Law. He perhaps has never read Justice Krishna Iyer’s seminal treatise – bail not jail is the rule.” “Forget NJAC, Govt wants to micromanage judiciary: cut vacations, no priority to bail, et al. What next?” senior advocate Salman Khurshid wondered.
Sibal poser
“Rijiju alleged said: Supreme Court must not take up bail pleas ….Does he even know the meaning of liberty?” senior advocate Kapil Sibal tweeted
