NJAC will fix criteria to become High Court, Supreme Court judge
The objective of the National Judicial Appointments Commission is to stop bad appointments
By : j. venkatesan
Update: 2015-06-13 03:15 GMT
New Delhi: As the objective of the National Judicial Appointments Commission is to stop bad appointments, the NJAC will prescribe qualifications for becoming a High Court judge and the number of judgments a judge delivered in the High Court will be one of the criterion for his elevation to the Supreme Court, the Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said.
Continuing his arguments before a five-judge Constitution bench comprising Justices J.S. Khehar, J. Chelameswar, Madan B. Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A.K. Goel, hearing a batch of petitions on the validity of the NJAC, the AG said, “The manner in which collegium sends recommendation for appointment or elevation is not worthy of public acceptance.”
He said “the shroud of mystery in the collegium system can only be lifted by the NJAC, which will put in place the criterion for judges appointments. Public don’t want judges who write only 50 to 60 judgments in the High Courts (he was apparently referring to justice Cyriac Joseph) to become a Supreme Court judge. He has not delivered after reserving hundreds of judgments in the High Courts. Can such a person be elevated at all to the apex court?.” Arguments will continue on June 15.