'Govt Wants Its Representatives In Collegium': Law Minister Writes To CJI

The letter is the latest in an ongoing tussle between the government and judiciary over the appointment of judges.

(Photo: Chetan Bhakuni/Altered by The Quint)

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has reportedly written to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud suggesting that government representatives be included in the Supreme Court collegium, which decides on the appointment of judges.

Why? According to the law minister, this will bring transparency and public accountability to the 25-year-old Collegium system.

Rijiju has also said that state representatives should be part of the High Court collegium.

The letter is the latest in an ongoing tussle between the government and judiciary over the process of appointment of judges.

Over a month ago Rijiju had criticised the current procedure for being "opaque" and lacking "transparency and accountability."

According to media reports, he also recently said that the collegium system, which is an administrative job "is keeping the judges extremely busy" and impacting their duties as judges.

Is Rijiju the only one? Important to note here are the critical statements made by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar last week on the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

He called the move "a glaring instance of severe compromise of parliamentary sovereignty and disregard of the mandate of the people of which the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha are custodians."

The NJAC was a proposed judicial appointment body that would include the law minister and other representatives chosen by the executive.

Passed by the parliament in 2014, the NJAC was meant to replace the collegium system, but the top court in 2015 had declared it unconstitutional.

What Has The Supreme Court Said? Rijiju's constant attacks on the collegium has not gone down well with the top court.

In November last year Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, one of the senior most members of the top court and a part of the collegium, said during a hearing:

"Many people may have reservations about the law. But till it stands, it is the law of the land. I have ignored all press reports, but this has come from somebody high enough. It should not have happened."

'Centre Trying To Capture Judiciary': Senior Supreme Court advocate and former law minister Kapil Sibal, on 15 January, told news agency PTI that the government was attempting to "capture" the judiciary and was trying its best to create a situation in which the NJAC in "another avatar" may be tested in the Supreme Court once again.

He claimed the government has not adjusted to the fact that it does not have the final word on appointments in higher judiciary and resents it.

(With inputs from NDTV, Times of India, LiveLaw, PTI)