‘Unhappiness’ over NJAC behind govt delay on Collegium recommendations; govt needs to follow the law of the land: Supreme Court

Supreme Court had struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission, which gave the government an equal say in judicial appointments to the constitutional courts, in 2015

The Supreme Court on November 28 linked the bitter failure of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) to the government’s willingness to “cross some Rubicons” and take on the judiciary by delaying Collegium recommendations.

The Supreme Court had struck down the NJAC, which gave the government an equal say in judicial appointments to the constitutional courts, in 2015. The judgment had revived the Collegium system of judicial appointments.

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“There appears to be an unhappiness in the government of the fact that NJAC did not muster the constitutional mandate… That cannot be the reason to not comply with the law of the land,” a Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and A.S. Oka.

The hearing coincided with a fresh salvo from Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, a relentless critic of the opacity of the Collegium system, aimed at the Supreme Court. Mr. Rijiju, in an interview, reportedly dared the judiciary to “issue its own notifications” of appointments if it thought the government was sitting on Collegium recommendations.

“Let them give the power to us then, we have no difficulty… When somebody high up says ‘let them do it’, we will do it ourselves… This [Rijiju’s remarks] came from somebody high enough, it should not have,” Justice Kaul shot back when apprised of the Law Minister’s comments by Supreme Court Bar Association president, senior advocate Vikas Singh, in court.

The hearing on Monday marked a new high in the tensions simmering for the past few weeks between the judiciary and the government over appointments. Mr. Rijiju has been criticising the Collegium system in several public fora, mentioning how the NJAC could have provided a transparent alternative.