NJAC - It's all about Intentions.
There is no denial of the fact that, the present collegium system of selecting judges is certainly not an efficacious one. But that does not mean that every government that comes to power engages in amending the constitution as per their whims and fancies in the name of “the people”. The constitutional bench in itself is an authority empowered by the constitution itself with the responsibility to see whether the constitutional amendments are made by the legislature in every constitutional way. The basic purpose of the bench is thus to ensure that the laws and amendments made by the legislature by virtue of their sheer majority in the parliament or state assemblies are right, legal and constitutional in itself. And hence they are just not there to give a carte blanche commitment to whatever laws or an amendment passed with absolute majority in the parliament and or is supported by the majority of states. The legality or the constitutionality of an amendment should not by any means be scrutinized by the number of supporters you have in parliament but by the parameters prescribed by the constitution, particularly when you are dealing with constitutional amendments or reviews. Hence, the constitutional bench, a specialist body empowered meticulously for this job, should intervene and help the government to find a better solution to the problem by making the present collegium system more transparent and democratic.
Democracy, or for that matter, legislature in India is basically political in nature. It reflects predominantly the ideologies of a particular political party in power or in the opposition. Though they represent “the people” in wholeness, but in actuality, we all know how much involvement they have in the policy making process of the government.
Under such circumstances, at least an independent judiciary is a must. There should be a body to safeguard the fundamental and constitutional rights of the people. There should not be any political interventions in electing judges as well. In my opinion, appointment of judges should be entrusted with an independent authority, powered by the constitution, where its members are handpicked from a panel of eminent members from judicial field, retired Supreme Court judges with impeccable record and credentials and yes of course, you may also include the attorney general as a representative of the government. Nothing else….. That’s just my two cents; you can have your own opinion………
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| NJAC - It's all about Intentions...Cartoon |
There is no denial of the fact that, the present collegium system of selecting judges is certainly not an efficacious one. But that does not mean that every government that comes to power engages in amending the constitution as per their whims and fancies in the name of “the people”. The constitutional bench in itself is an authority empowered by the constitution itself with the responsibility to see whether the constitutional amendments are made by the legislature in every constitutional way. The basic purpose of the bench is thus to ensure that the laws and amendments made by the legislature by virtue of their sheer majority in the parliament or state assemblies are right, legal and constitutional in itself. And hence they are just not there to give a carte blanche commitment to whatever laws or an amendment passed with absolute majority in the parliament and or is supported by the majority of states. The legality or the constitutionality of an amendment should not by any means be scrutinized by the number of supporters you have in parliament but by the parameters prescribed by the constitution, particularly when you are dealing with constitutional amendments or reviews. Hence, the constitutional bench, a specialist body empowered meticulously for this job, should intervene and help the government to find a better solution to the problem by making the present collegium system more transparent and democratic.
Democracy, or for that matter, legislature in India is basically political in nature. It reflects predominantly the ideologies of a particular political party in power or in the opposition. Though they represent “the people” in wholeness, but in actuality, we all know how much involvement they have in the policy making process of the government.
Under such circumstances, at least an independent judiciary is a must. There should be a body to safeguard the fundamental and constitutional rights of the people. There should not be any political interventions in electing judges as well. In my opinion, appointment of judges should be entrusted with an independent authority, powered by the constitution, where its members are handpicked from a panel of eminent members from judicial field, retired Supreme Court judges with impeccable record and credentials and yes of course, you may also include the attorney general as a representative of the government. Nothing else….. That’s just my two cents; you can have your own opinion………
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