Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda has clarified that the Supreme Court Collegium will continue to recommend appointment of judges until the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) is formally set up. Earlier reports had suggested the Law Minister stating that recommendations made by the SC Collegium will be put on hold until the public interest litigations filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Constitutional Amendment setting up NJAC are decided.
It had also been reported earlier that the SC Collegium had recommended the names of Justice G. Rohini, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court and Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, for their elevation as Supreme Court judges. It may be noted that at present, there are 3 vacancies of judges in the Supreme Court, and another vacancy will be created on 14 March 2015 when Justice Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya retires.
Moreover, the Supreme Court Collegium is reported to have met again yesterday (6 February 2015) to discuss and recommend names for appointment as judges to the Supreme Court and some high courts.
The clarification now issued by the Law Minister means the potential confrontation between the judiciary and the executive on the issue of appointment of judges would be avoided, until NJAC is formally set up. As reported earlier, the Constitutional Amendment Act and the NJAC Act have already been assented to by the President and have been notified, though the NJAC is yet to be formally set up.
The Law Minister has also reportedly hoped that the Chief Justice of India Justice H.L. Dattu, who is the chairman of the NJAC, would extend his cooperation for NJAC. It is pertinent to mention that the two eminent persons who are to be appointed as members of the NJAC will have to be appointed on the basis of the selection made by a committee comprising of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.
