The Centre said today that the new National Judicial Appointments Commission will be in place before May 11.
The Centre today assured the Supreme Court that no fresh appointments of High Court and Supreme Court judges will be made, until the top court decides whether the National Judicial Appointments Commission -- the new system of appointing judges -- is valid.
Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi, speaking for the Centre, added that in the event that the Commission wants to appoint new judges, the Centre will inform the court.
The government last week notified the Commission, that changes the way judges are appointed in India. The earlier collegium system of judicial appointments has been replaced by the National Judicial Appointments Commission. For nearly two decades, judges have been appointed or transferred by a collegium - a group of five senior judges. A large number of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of the Commission, saying it's unconstitutional and affects the judiciary's independence.
A five-judge constitutional bench will decide on the Commission's validity; the hearing is scheduled to begin on April 27. The Centre said today that the new National Judicial Appointments Commission will be in place before May 11.
The five-judge bench had yesterday asked the Attorney General to inform the court about the status of additional judges, whose terms are ending while the constitutional bench is hearing the case of the Commission's validity. The Attorney General answered that today, saying that existing additional judges will be re-appointed or confirmed, like in the collegium system earlier, and no judge will lose his or her job because of the new system of judicial appointments.
The Attorney General also told the court today that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon arrange a meeting with the Chief Justice and the leader of the largest party in the Lok Sabha, to nominate two eminent persons to be part of the six-member Commission. The new body will comprise the Chief Justice of India, the two most senior judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister and two eminent persons.