No tussle at all with judiciary over appointment of judges: Law Minister

The government is looking at systems followed in different countries for appointment of judges, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has said while asserting that there is “no tussle” between the Executive and the Judiciary and a good consultation process is being followed to fill vacancies in the higher judiciary.

He also said that amid rising pendency in courts, the government is working to strengthen the alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

In an exclusive interview with PTI, Mr. Meghwal said that the government is examining systems adopted by various countries in the appointment of judges.

He, however, explained that appointment systems in other countries are being examined informally and no formal mechanism has been put in place to study them.

“Let us see what comes out of it,” Mr. Meghwal said while responding to a question on whether there could be an alternative to the collegium system.

Responding to another question on differences between the Executive and the Judiciary over the appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges, Mr. Meghwal asserted that there is “no tussle” and “good consultations” take place.

“First of all, I want to say there is no tussle and there is a good consultation process,” he asserted.

He said there are occasions when the Supreme Court collegium differs on the names suggested by the government. Similarly, the government also holds back their recommendations for reasons such as negative background checks, he said.

“But there is no tussle at all,” he observed.

Both Houses of Parliament had passed with near unanimity a Bill to overturn the collegium system by setting up a body to appoint SC and HC judges.

The Supreme Court, however, struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act along with the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act on October 16, 2015, declaring them unconstitutional and void.

In a 4:1 majority decision, the five-judge Constitution Bench ruled that the NJAC violated the “basic structure” of the Indian Constitution by severely undermining the independence of the judiciary and the principle of separation of powers.

This historic verdict dismantled the government’s proposed panel and revived the decades-old Collegium system for appointing judges to the higher judiciary.

Mr. Meghwal said that with over five crore cases pending across the Supreme Court, 25 high courts and lower judiciary, the Mr. Modi government is pushing for alternative dispute resolution mechanism, including arbitration, to reduce pendency.