JOIN USSC in a spot over govt's NJAC plea
The Supreme Court was faced with a difficult situation on Monday after the government sought a direction to the CJI to attend deliberations for setting up of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).
The government described the situation as “Constitutional crisis” in view of a letter by the Chief Justice of India H L Dattu not to be part of the NJAC till the Supreme Court decided the validity of the new law.
Appearing before a five-judge Constitution bench, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that the refusal by the CJI has led to a “Constitutional crisis” since the bench had neither stayed the new law, nor restrained the government from making the NJAC functional by having six members in the panel. He asserted that this stalemate should not be allowed to continue since the NJAC was the only valid law on appointment of judges after the Constitutional amendment that has ended the collegium system.
“The NJAC can function even without the two eminent members. If the Chief Justice does not want to get involved, the senior most or the second senior most judge can be sent. Or the Chief Justice can at least sit in these meetings and he does not need to actively participate but something has to be done since NJAC is a reality now,” he submitted.
The top law officer also submitted that the Constitution bench should direct the CJI to attend the meetings, particularly in the wake of the fact that the NJAC was supposed to act as an interim mechanism to consider confirmation of existing additional high court judges whose tenures would end during the pendency of the case.