New Delhi: Union law minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the suggestion of the inclusion of government representatives in the Supreme Court Collegium – mentioned in his letter to the Chief Justice of India that made headlines a day ago – is part of “precise follow up action” on the apex court’s directions some years ago.
Rijiju made this claim by quote-tweeting Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s tweet on a news report on the letter sent by the law ministry to the CJI. “This is extremely dangerous. There [should] be absolutely no government interference in judicial appointments,” Kejriwal had written.
The contents in the letter to hon'ble CJI are exactly in conformity with the observations and directions of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench. Convenient politics is not advisable, especially in the name of Judiciary. Constitution of India is supreme and nobody is above it.
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) January 16, 2023
The Union government and Supreme Court are locked in a tussle with multiple rounds of back and forth over judicial appointments. At present, judges to the apex court and high courts are appointed by two Collegiums comprising Supreme Court judges. The Union government has been keen to participate in the process and has recently not acted on several of the apex court collegium’s recommendations.
The National Judicial Appointment Commission Act has been in the centre of this affair as it had envisioned two government representatives in a body that will appoint judges. The Supreme Court had quashed this act in 2015.
Responding to Kejriwal’s tweet, Rijiju said that the government was only acting on the Supreme Court’s direction, given when it allegedly struck down the NJAC Act.
“I hope you honour Court’s direction! This is precise follow-up action of the direction of Supreme Court Constitution Bench while striking down the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act. The SC Constitution Bench had directed to restructure the MoP of the collegium system,” he said.
Rijiju further claimed that his letter to the CJI “exactly” conform the 2015 constitution bench’s directions.
“The contents in the letter to hon’ble CJI are exactly in conformity with the observations and directions of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench. Convenient politics is not advisable, especially in the name of Judiciary. Constitution of India is supreme and nobody is above it,” he wrote.
Rijiju’s latest comments are at odds with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s comments last week, where he had criticised the apex court’s quashing of the NJAC Act and said he did not agree with the restriction imposed by the top court that parliament cannot amend the ‘basic structure’ of the constitution.
“How can a govt’s nominee be part of the collegium ? Some people make comment without knowing the facts! The Constitution Bench of hon’ble SC itself had asked to restructure the MoP. Search-cum-Evaluation committee is envisaged for preparation of panel of eligible candidates,” Rijiju then said.
While the Supreme Court did ask the Union government to come up with a new Memorandum of Procedure to make the proceedings of the Collegium more transparent, this led to an impasse over some clauses. Ultimately, in 2017, an MoP was finalised but not adopted.