Rijiju suggests CJI restructuring of MoP; Oppn hits out

New Delhi: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has written to the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud for the inclusion of government nominees in the collegium system on appointments to the higher judiciary and defended it as a “precise follow-up action” suggested by the apex court while striking down the NJAC Act.
Rijiju’s early January letter to the CJI and the remarks on Monday come amid a tug-of-war between the government and the judiciary over the process of appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and high courts.Besides several Union ministers, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has slammed the 2015 scrapping of the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) by the apex court and claimed that the judiciary was encroaching on the domain of the legislature.The Opposition, however, hit out at the move, with Congress leader Jairam Ramesh saying that while reforms were needed, the government’s remedy was a “poison pill” for the independent judiciary. It also alleged that it was an “orchestrated confrontation” by the government to “capture” the judiciary.Officials said the Law Minister has sought the setting up of a “search and evaluation committee” with representation from the central and the state governments in the selection of judges for the Supreme Court and the High Courts respectively. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal dubbed the government’s move as “extremely dangerous”.“There should be absolutely no government interference in judicial appointments,” Kejriwal said on Twitter.Reacting to Delhi chief minister’s remarks, Rijiju said the move is in line with the direction of the Constitution Bench to restructure the MoP (Memorandum of Procedure) of the collegium system.