All-India Bar hails ruling against NJAC

Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, October 17

The All-India Bar Association (AIBA) and the Campaign for Judicial Accountability (CJAR) have welcomed the Supreme Court judgment reviving the Collegium system.

AIBA Chairman Adish C Aggarwala, however, said there was a need for setting up a judicial commission afresh, defining its composition and the appointment method in the Constitution, instead of making it another statutory body like the NJAC.

In a joint letter addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India Justice HL Dattu, he demanded that the names of District Court judges and High Court judges, who retired after January 2015 after enactment of the NJAC law, should be considered for the High Court and Supreme Court judgeship, respectively.

CJAR said the Collegium system undoubtedly brought in greater independence of the judiciary. But it also had its own problems. The appointments through this system were also made in a totally non-transparent and often nepotistic manner. But the government introduced NJAC in an attempt to wrest back some control over the selection of judges.