New Delhi, April 29: The Supreme Court declined on Monday to entertain a plea seeking the listing of a petition aiming to abolish the collegium system of judges appointing judges in the higher judiciary. A bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged lawyer Mathews Nedumpara’s request to have his writ petition, advocating for the abolition of the collegium system, scheduled for a hearing.
“I have mentioned it several times. The registry has rejected it and is not listing my petition,” the lawyer voiced his concern.
“The Registrar (Listing) has said that once the Constitution bench has ruled on something, an Article 32 petition (under the Article a plea can directly be filed in the Supreme Court on grounds of infringement of fundamental rights) is not maintainable. There are other remedies against the registrar’s order,” the Chief Justice remarked.
The review petition against the NJAC judgment was dismissed in the chambers, the lawyers remarked, further stating, “This is about the credibility of the institution. The Collegium system has to go.”
“I am sorry,” the Chief Justice responded.
On October 17, 2015, a five-judge Constitution bench deemed unconstitutional and set aside the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment, which aimed to give politicians and civil society a final say in the appointment of judges to the high courts and the Supreme Court. It ruled that the independent judiciary was part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
The plea seeking a review of the judgment was also dismissed.
The National Democratic Alliance government had passed the NJAC Bill to eliminate the collegium system, where a group of judges decided who would be judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts.
The NJAC proposed a body comprising six members — CJI, two senior most judges of the Supreme Court, Union minister of law and justice, and two eminent persons.
