Ignoring opposition by the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, the government withdrew the Judicial Appoints Commission Bill, 2013 and assured the House that it would come back with a comprehensive legislation giving constitutional status to a Judicial Appointments Commission for appointment and transfer of judges in the higher judiciary.
The Congress was isolated as opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, AIADMK, DMK and the Trinamool Congress, backed the government’s proposal to reform the judicial appointments process. The government motion was carried by a voice vote.
Moving the motion to withdraw the Bill, Mr. Prasad said the previous government had brought two Bills in this regard, including a Constitutional Amendment Bill, which had lapsed. The Congress, the largest party with 69 members in the 245-member upper house, opposed the move, saying the government need not go in for a fresh Bill. It could bring amendments to the earlier Bill.
Mr. Prasad’s remark that the Standing Committee had disapproved the Bill was protested noisily by Congress members. After Congress member Shantaram Naik, who had chaired the Standing Committee, asserted that the Bill was neither rejected nor withdrawn by the committee, the Minister was forced to withdraw his words.
