New Delhi: A Constitutional Amendment Bill paving way for the creation of a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to replace the present collegium system to appoint judges to higher courts was passed in the Rajya Sabha today amid high drama with BJP walking out.
A push by BJP for referring the Constitution (120th Amendment) Bill, 2013 to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on law failed and it was passed by 131 votes in favour and one against.
BJP supported scrapping of the collegium system and replacing it with JAC and walked out as its voice was not heard after passionate arguments between Law Minister Kapil Sibal and Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley, both noted lawyers.
The main bill - the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2013 - which defines the establishment of the proposed body was referred to the Standing Committee.
Jaitley said the "piecemeal" approach of the government was not practical as passage of the Constitutional Amendment would create a Constitutional hiatus as the collegium system would be repealed without a new mechanism in place.
He said the Standing Committee could complete its work before the Winter Session and his party would support the bill on the very first day of the next session.
Sibal rejected Jaitley's apprehension about a Constitutional hiatus and said government will not take the Constitutional amendment for Presidential approval till the JAC bill is passed.
Earlier, government and Opposition were united in criticising the functioning of the judiciary while seeking to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts, saying it is essential to restore the delicate balance of power which has been disturbed.
Moving the bill, Sibal said the Executive must have a say in appointment of judges as the present system of appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the 24 High Courts has not worked well.
Sibal said the Judiciary "rewrote Constitution" in 1993 when the collegium system of appointing judges to higher courts was adopted which disturbed the delicate balance between the Judiciary, the Legislature and the Executive.
Underlining that appointment of judges has "nothing to do with judicial function", he said, "the acts of appointments are Executive acts."
Defending the government's move to get the Constitutional amendment bill passed and let the main bill go to the Standing Committee for vetting, he said by the time the report of the Parliamentary panel on the JAC Bill comes, the Centre will seek ratification of all states on the Constitutional amendment which will take six to eight months.
He said after getting ratification of at least 50 per cent of the states, the government will not seek President's approval on the Constitutional amendment till the time the main JAC Bill is passed.
The move to set up JAC will entail amendments to Articles 124, 217, 222 and 231 of the Constitution and insertion of a new Article 124 A.
Overcoming resistance from the judiciary, the bill to scrap the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts was introduced in the Rajya Sabha last week.
The bill, which entails Constitutional amendment, seeks to set up a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) to recommend appointment and transfer of Supreme Court and High Court judges.
