Centre wants to restructure judges’ collegium system; Union Law Minister writes to CJI

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has written to Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, expressing his dissatisfaction with the Collegium method of appointing judges and advocating for the return of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).

While speaking to ANI on Monday, 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.”

The law minister also took to Twitter earlier today to post, “The contents in the letter to hon’ble CJI are exactly in conformity with the observations and directions of the Supreme Court Constitution Bench. Convenient politics is not advisable, especially in the name of Judiciary. Constitution of India is supreme and nobody is above it.”

In his letter to the Chief Justice, Rijiju argued for the inclusion of government representation on the Supreme Court.

According to the Centre, this will increase openness and public accountability in the court’s decision-making process on the appointment of justices.

The Supreme Court Constitution Bench ordered the reform of the collegium system’s Memorandum of Procedure (MoP).

The MoP is a document that outlines the process for appointing judges to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice of India, along with four senior-most Supreme Court judges, recommends the appointment and transfer of judges under the current Collegium system. The current Supreme Court collegium includes Chief Justice Chandrachud, Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, KM Joseph, MR Shah, Ajay Rastogi, and Sanjiv Khanna.