Members of the Rajya Sabha have demanded a transparent system for appointing judges, while discussing a calling attention motion on the ‘Situation arising out of impasse in appointment of judges in High Court and Supreme Court’.
Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, however, did not give any commitment to the House on revisiting the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act, 2014, and said the Centre has accepted the Supreme Court judgement on the matter. “We have accepted the judgement regardless of our reservation. Lot of questions were asked on ‘are you willing to come again for this law’. The polity will have to take a call. I cannot make a commitment today,” Prasad said.
The motion, moved by senior advocate and Congress MP Vivek K Tankha, demanded the Centre’s intervention in ensuring transparency in judges appointments. He said the pendency of cases has increased due to a stalemate in appointments.
The minister, however, denied this charge and said “there was no impasse” in appointment of judges. “I am not running away from debate in Parliament. I am discussing the whole Memorandum of Procedure with judges...Let the process be complete. I am dealing with something sensitive...I want to tell the members that we are alive to the concerns you have reflected here. Let that process be complete. We will do our best,” Prasad said.
Various members asked the Centre to immediately find a way out as the issue is affecting the consumers of judicial system, the people. They also urged the Centre to ensure that reservation of SC, ST and OBC classes must be ensured during the appointment of judges in higher judiciary.