D.7. Appointment of Judges
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The Collegium |
According to the First Judges case, the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) proposal for judge appointments and transfers might be rejected for “cogent reasons.” For the following 12 years, the executive had priority over the judiciary in making judicial appointments. However, the Supreme Court held in the Second Judges case (and subsequently the Third Judges case, which was a clarification) that the judiciary had supremacy in appointing judges. According to it, the Supreme Court’s senior-most judges and the Chief Justice of India will have a major influence on judicial recruitment decisions. Regarding judicial appointments, rules and procedures were established. The executive’s position was drastically diminished, and the judiciary now controlled a major function. |
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NJAC |
With the passage of the Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act of 2014 as well as the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act of 2014, the NDA government proposed the establishment of the National Judicial Appointments Commission in 2014. The Commission would be made up of the Chief Justice of India, two senior judges, the Law Minister, and “two eminent personalities” chosen by the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The NJAC Act and Constitution (Ninety-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014 were, however, declared illegal by the Supreme Court in a case brought by the Advocates-on-Record Association as according to them it undermined the separation of powers and intruded on the independence of the judiciary. |