Appointment of judges to be made more representative: Kumar

Government today said it is working on a proposal to change the present mechanism of appointment of judges by a collegium of judges to make it more "representative".

Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said at a seminar on judicial reforms here that the government is working on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.

"Let me quote an eloquent passage from David Pannick's book on judges 'the lawyer of yesterday is elevated to be the judge of today and spirals up the seniority...if lawyers are polluted and judges contaminated, the institution will collapse'...in this context, I may state that the government is also working on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill," he said.

He also said the amended version of the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, which seeks to lay judicial standards for judges, will come up for discussion in Parliament.

The event was attended by President Pranab Mukherjee and senior judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

He later told reporters that the proposed Commission would make the process of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts "more broadbased, more representative".

Kumar, however, skirted questions on whether the move was aimed at 'overturning' the present collegium system and giving the executive more say in judicial appointments.

He said though it was a "work in progress", the proposed body could have a nominee of the President and the Prime Minister on board.