In a major development, Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday replaced Kiren Rijiju as law minister months after speculated friction between the government and the Supreme Court over the Collegium system. Meghwal has been assigned an independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice, in addition to his existing portfolios. Kiren Rijiju will now handle the portfolio of the Ministry of Earth Sciences. Union Minister Jitendra Singh was holding charge of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.


President Droupadi Murmu, as advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reallocated portfolios among ministers in the Union Council of Ministers, a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.


Incidents Of Rijiju’s Row With The Supreme Court



  • Rijiju had frequent run-ins with the Supreme Court over judicial appointments. He had in November last year said the collegium system of making appointments in the apex court and high courts was "alien" to the Constitution. In an interview with Aaj Tak, Rijiju said that since the Collegium has come to the picture the judges will take names of only those that they know. 

  • Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud had said no system is perfect but the Collegium system for appointment of judges "is the best that we have developed" and that it was devised as independence of judiciary is a cardinal value.

  • The CJI said that the processes for the appointment of judges are now becoming transparent. "We follow a model of career judges coming either to the High Court from the district judiciary or judges coming from the High Court to the Supreme Court. We of course have members of the bar as well coming to the Supreme Court as to the High Courts. Let me emphasize two facets. There is a transparency which operates at two levels. Transparency of the process of appointment, and transparency in the terms of the choices that you make when you are appointing people. The process has to be completely transparent," he said, as quoted by ANI.

  • "And that is why in the recent times, we have putting out on to our website the Collegium resolutions which tell the society at large, our citizens, what are the parameters we have applied in the selection of judges. Let them judge, let them critique us. I am not saying that any system is perfect, but this is the best that we have developed. Why was this Collegium system devised? It was devised for the simple reason that the independence of the judiciary is a cardinal value and you know to insulate the judiciary from outside influences if the judiciary has to truly be independent. That is the underlined feature and purpose of the Collegium," he added.

  • Earlier in January, Kiren Rijiju had written to D Y Chandrachud stating that he is not satisfied with the Collegium system of appointing judges while backing the reintroduction of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) for choosing judges. While speaking to ANI, Rijiju said, "It is just a follow-up action of the letters written earlier to CJI following the direction of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench while striking down the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act. The SC Constitution Bench had directed to restructure the MoP of the collegium system."

  • In January, Rijiju said that putting out RAW and IB inputs on the appointment of judges in the High Courts in the public domain by the Supreme Court Collegium is a "matter of serious concern" and he will react to it at an appropriate time. "Putting secret inputs of RAW & IB (on the appointment of judges in high courts) in public is a matter of serious concern. I will react to this in an appropriate manner in time," Rijuju said.

  • "As regards the first objection, the two communications of R&AW do not reflect any apprehension in regard to the individual conduct or behaviour of the partner of Saurabh Kirpal having a bearing on national security. There is no reason to pre-suppose that the partner of the candidate, who is a Swiss National, would be inimically disposed to our country since the country of his origin is a friendly nation," SC Collegium clarified, as quoted by ANI.

  • Rijiju said people are watching the judges and people make assessments of judgment and the way they deliver justice. "After becoming judges, they don't have to face elections or scrutiny by the public...Public is watching the judges, their judgments and the way they deliver justice, and make their assessments...In this era of social media, nothing can be hidden," he said.

  • Noting that apparent differences between the government and judiciary on an issue are portrayed as "Mahabharata" by some people, Kiren Rijiju said this is "not true at all" and that debate and discussion are part of the democratic culture. Addressing an event organised by Delhi Bar Association at Tis Hazari courts here, Rijiju said he belongs to a political party where it is emphasised that there can be "matbhed" (differences) but not "manbhed" (acrimony).