'Will Have To Constitute A Bench': Chief Justice Chandrachud On Plea Against Collegium System

Justice (retd) Kaul had said one has to accept there is a problem with the collegium system and it will be "unrealistic" to say that it is working smoothly.

File photo of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud

Source : PTI

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will constitute a bench to hear a petition challenging the collegium system for appointing judges to the apex court and high courts.

Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, responding to advocate Mathews J Nedumpara's mention of an old plea for urgent listing, stated, "I will have to constitute a bench," reported PTI.

Nedumpara cited the recent interviews of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who retired on December 25 last year.

In an interview with the PTI on December 29, Justice (retd) Kaul had said the National Judicial Appointments Commission was never given a chance to work, leading to angst in political circles and friction in the working of the collegium system of judges appointing judges to higher judiciary.

He had said one has to accept there is a problem with the collegium system and it will be "unrealistic" to say that it is working smoothly, reported PTI.

"If people say it (collegium) works smoothly, that would be unrealistic in a sense because that is not a fact. That is reflected by the number of appointments which remain pending. Even till today, certain names which have been recommended, are pending," Justice (retd) Kaul had said.

He had further stated, "We have to accept that there is a problem in the system. If we close our eyes to the problem, we will not come to a solution. You must acknowledge the problem first and then only you can come up with a solution."

In 2014, the Narendra Modi government, after coming to power, had enacted the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act.

The NJAC, tasked with the responsibility of making judicial appointments, comprised the Chief Justice of India, two senior Supreme Court judges, the union law minister and two other eminent persons nominated by the CJI, the prime minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

Nevertheless, in October 2015, the Supreme Court had struck down the NJAC Act, declaring it unconstitutional, reported PTI.

Justice (retd) Kaul, who was a member of the Supreme Court collegium for over a year, had said at present the collegium system is the law of the land and it must be implemented as it stands.