New Delhi: Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Monday tabled the Constitution Amendment Bill for Judicial Reforms.
Two-thirds majority is required for the Bill which if passed will clear the way for scrapping of the collegium system, a forum which decided the appointments and transfer of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts of India and comprises of the Chief Justice of India and four other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. The recommendations made by which is sent to the Law Ministry for its approval, which if rejected but persisted by the collegium, has to be accepted by the government.
This Bill seeks to change the mode of appointment and transfer of judges in the way that the President will appoint judges on the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Commission, comprising of the CJI, two other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister and two other eminent citizens who will be selected by a panel comprising of the Prime Minister, CJI and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The Bill, if passed will take away the power of the CJI to make a unilateral choice.
The Bill had earlier been introduced by the UPA government last year.
The Bharatiya Janata Party led NDA government has the support of all the parties except for Congress.
The Centre also tabled the Judges Appointment Bill.
This comes at a time when Press Council of India Chairman and former judge of Supreme Court, Justice Markandey Katju had on Sunday alleged two former CJIs SH Kapadia of inaction against corrupt Allahabad High Court judges.
Comments
0 comment