Today, in Rajya Sabha National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014, which was passed unanimously. It was a major milestone achieved of Narendra Modi led NDA government.
The Bill was passed by a voice vote. Rajya Sabha had a lenghy discussion on the government’s proposal to remove existing collegium system of appointment of judges in higher courts.
The bill was introduced to Rajya Sabha yesterday night for its consideration.The 99th Constitution Amendment Bill will form a basis for setting up of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) through another bill, aimed at overturning the two-decade-old collegium system of appointing judges in the Supreme Court and High Courts.
After the bill becomes law, the government will have a say in the appointment of Supreme Court and high court judges after 21 years. Once the commission is formed, 266 vacancies for judges in 24 high courts are likely to be filled expeditiously. The Supreme Court, which has a sanctioned strength of 31, also has one vacancy. The appointment of new judges is also expected to speed up the backlog of legal cases in courts across the country.
