Lok Satta Party chief Jayaprakash Narayan says that the party's dream of a Judicial Commission has finally been realised.
The Lok Satta Party welcomed the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill 2013, which provides for the creation of a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC). The Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill on Thursday, as a replacement to the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts.
In the past, the Lok Satta had brought together three eminent judges of unimpeachable integrity and credibility, to come up with proposals for judicial appointments and an Indian Judicial Service. The three judges - Chief Justice M N Venkatachalaiah, Chief Justice J S Verma and Justice V R Krishna Iyer - created a report that recommended the formation of a National Judicial Commission for the appointment of judges in higher courts. The report also recommended an Indian Judicial Service for competitive, nation-wide recruitment of judges at the district judge level.
The Lok Satta Party had shared the report with all major political parties and parliamentarians, and had also briefed the government and opposition leaders on its salient features.
"The Bill adopted by the Rajya Sabha is a modified version of the proposals made by the three eminent judges," pointed out Lok Satta Party national president Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan.
In a media statement, Dr. JP said, "The Bill associates the executive, legislature and judiciary in the process of appointment of higher judges. Combined with the judicial standards and accountability law, the Bill ensures that there is both quality and accountability in the higher judiciary. If the Indian Judicial Service also becomes a reality, it will provide a large pool of highly qualified judges in the subordinate judiciary for appointment to higher courts."
Dr. JP recalled that the Supreme Court had usurped the power to appoint judges of higher courts for nearly two decades, by introducing the collegium system.
"This usurpation is plainly unconstitutional, and violates the principle of checks and balances in relation to the organs of the state. In no other democracy are judges the sole appointing authority of other judges. Even in practice, appointment of judges by the Supreme Court collegium has been found to be unsatisfactory and undermining the quality and credibility of the judiciary," he said.
He pointed out that the Indian judiciary plays a seminal rule in safeguarding the citizens' liberty, promoting rule of law, and "above all, in reconciling and harmonizing the conflicting points of view in a highly diverse and polarised society like India". Therefore, the courts' credibility and quality of individual judges are critical, he added.
The proposed Judicial Appointments Commission will comprise the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, two Supreme Court judges, the Law Minister, the Law Secretary and two eminent jurists. The jurists will be chosen by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
Dr. JP appealed to all political parties, jurists and members of the bar to extend support towards the proposal for the constitution of the Indian Judicial Service. (INN)