Govt supports ex-CJI view on appointment of judges

A day after former chief justice of India JS Verma slammed the procedure for the appointments and promotions of judges, the Centre on Monday too admitted that the present system required changes.

A day after former chief justice of India JS Verma slammed the procedure for the appointments and promotions of judges, the Centre on Monday too admitted that the present system required changes.

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Law minister M Veerappa Moily said he fully supported Justice Verma’s view that the existing system of a panel of judges (collegium) recommending the names to appoint and promote judges had serious shortcomings.

“I totally agree with him about transparency and accountability of judiciary. We are in the process of addressing this important issue,” law minister M Veerappa Moily said.

“Justice Verma was the author of the 1993 Supreme Court judgment which had led to the creation of the collegium system for judges’ appointments. It is good that an eminent jurist like him has felt the need for a review of his own creation,” the minister said.

Asked how the government proposed to change the existing system, Moily said: “It would be done after taking the views of all the stakeholders, including the higher judiciary, lawyers and all the political parties.”

The law minister made it clear that the government was not considering any move to scrap the collegium system, but would aim to remove the shortcomings “so that good judges are appointed and promoted.”

Moily declined to comment on whether the government was considering a proposal to amend the constitution to change the system for judges' appointment.

In an interview to Karan Thapar on CNN IBN, justice Verma, had strongly advocated replacing the existing collegium system with an independent National Judicial Commission.