New Delhi:
The Supreme Court today decided not to intervene on petitions challenging a bill to change the system of appointing judges, saying it would be "premature".
The court's decision puts off a possible confrontation over the government's Judicial Appointments Commission Bill passed in Parliament recently.
The bill replaces a collegium for selecting judges with a panel that will have the Chief Justice of India, two senior Supreme Court judges, the Law Minister and two eminent persons.
Three petitions have opposed the bill and the scrapping of the collegium system of five seniormost judges deciding on appointments and transfers in the higher judiciary. A bench said the petitions are "premature" and could be moved again "at a later stage".
Representing one of the petitioners, senior lawyer Fali Nariman said, "The bill erodes the independence of the judiciary. It is unconstitutional. Parliament has no powers to pass such a bill without amending the Constitution."
But the Centre's lawyer, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, argued, "The bill and the Constitutional amendment are in the legislative process and the court can't interfere in the legislative process. This will lead to chaos and interference by the judiciary."
He also gave the example of the top court refusing to take up petitions against a bill to create Telangana, which came into being in June.
The Chief Justice of India, RM Lodha has publicly backed the collegium system. He had also commented earlier this month that the "judiciary, executive and Parliament" should work with mutual respect and not encroach on each other's space, in remarks that were seen as a message to the Narendra Modi government.