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Judges appointment: Govt to replace existing system
Pradeep Thakur TNN
Source: The Times of India dated 27.07.2013
Sources said the JAC Bill prescribes that the law secretary, who will be the convenor of the commission, will lay procedures to be followed and that would include recording of minutes of the panel’s meetings. In the present collegium system, proceedings are not recorded and no minutes are kept of the discussions.
The government’s move is important given the recent controversy where Gujarat HC Chief Justice Bhaskar Bhattacharya had alleged that rejection of his candidature for SC was motivated and the then CJI Altamas Kabir had personal reasons to do so.
There is no record of any discussion on what transpired in the collegium when the candidature of Justice Bhattacharya came up. TOI had earlier reported that the proposed JAC will be headed by the CJI and will include the two seniormost judges of the SC, two jurists and the law minister as members. The government is open to the idea of including the leader of opposition as a member but in that case, the commission will have only one jurist to keep the panel strength at six.
