Plea for Collegium system review

Plea for Collegium system review

Subject : Polity

Context: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and the high courts.

Concept : 

• The petitioner contended that the Supreme Court’s 2015 judgment had thwarted the will of the people by striking down the99th constitution amendment act which introduced the National Judicial Appointment Commission for the appointment of judges in higher courts.
• The petition also said that the 2015 judgment be rendered void ab initio as it had revived the collegium system.

Void ab initio :

• Void ab initio means that a legal document, contract, agreement, or transaction is legally void from the start or beginning.
• “Void” means something that does not produce any legal effect or has any legal value.
• “Ab initio” is a Latin phrase meaning “from the start” or “from the beginning”.

About National Judicial Appointment Commission

• The NJAC was established by amending the Constitution [Constitution (Ninety-Ninth Amendment) Act, 2014] passed by the parliament.
• NJAC is a body responsible for the appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary in India.
• NJAC act sought to replace the collegium system of appointing the judges of Supreme Court and High Courts.
• Through judicial appointments commission, the executive will have a say in appointing the judges.
• A new article, Article 124A, (which provides for the composition of the NJAC) was to be inserted into the Constitution.
• The act provided for the procedure to be followed by the NJAC for recommending persons for appointment as Chief Justice of India and other Judges of the Supreme Court (SC), and Chief Justice and other Judges of High Courts (HC).
• According to the act  the commission will consist of the following members:

1. Chief Justice of India (Chairperson, ex officio)
2. Two other senior judges of the Supreme Court next to the Chief Justice of India – ex officio
3. The Union Minister of Law and Justice, ex-officio
4. Two ‘eminent persons’. These eminent persons are to be nominated for a three-year term by a committee consisting of the Chief Justice, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and are not eligible for re-nomination.