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Government should have no voice in judicial appointments: Jethmalani
New Delhi, April 11
Eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani Saturday said that the government should
have no voice in the selection of judges as it may cause prejudice in
its favour being the biggest litigant in courts.
"We must have a
system of appointment of judges where a litigant has no voice in the
appointment of judges," Jethmalani said at a seminar here, as he
assailed the presence of the union law minister as one of the six
members of the National Judicial Appointment Commission.
Contending
the litigant goes to the court against corrupt and illegal actions of
the executive, Jethmalani said: "Therefore, process for the appointment
of judge should be such that it should not create a slightest impression
of prejudice in the mind of the litigants."
In his key
note address at the seminar organized by the Res Publican Law Society,
on "The National Judicial Appointment Commission Act, 2014", Jethmalani
said that there must be complete respect and distance between judges and
the litigant.
He expressed an apprehension that the law
minister's presence could result in a situation of quid pro quo in the
selection of judges for appointment to higher judiciary.
"Corrupt
politicians always want corrupt judiciary," Jethmalani said making an
impassioned plea to keep executive off in the appointment of judges.
The
parliament in 2014 had amended the constitution to replace the
collegium system of appointment of judges by the National Judicial
Appointment Commission. The National Judicial Appointment Commission
Act, 2014 had also been passed in August 2014.
Contending that
the law minster had no role in the NJAC, Jethmalani said that instead an
eminent jurist should be there to represent the legal fraternity and
one from the academic world. He described as "vote bank politics" the
provision for the representative of the scheduled caste/tribes, weaker
sections and minorities in the NJAC.
Opposing the NJAC,
another eminent jurist Anil Divan said that the panel would be dependent
on the government for all its activities which may result in colured or
doctored dossiers being placed before the commission of the people to
be considered for selection and appointment of judges.
Expressing
serious apprehension on the NJAC's working, he said that there was
every possibility of the government creating an adverse dossier of a
potential candidate to thwart his selection.