The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that the constitutionality of National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) cannot be challenged even after its notification.
The NJAC statute and the 99th Constitution Amendment, accommodating it in the Constitution, received the assent of the President, but has not yet come into force as the government is yet to notify it.
Once notified, the NJAC would replace the Collegium system of judicial appointments to the higher courts in the country.
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said the NJAC could only be challenged after the Act starts working and an impact is felt in a specific instance of judicial appointment.
Countering him, senior advocate Fali Nariman termed the NJAC Act, 2014, passed by the parliament in August last year, a “stillborn child”.
Mr. Nariman, who appears for the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association challenging the law, submitted that the parliament had no authority.
“The parliament has the authority to pass the NJAC Act only after the Constitution Amendment receives the President's assent. But here, the NJAC Act was passed in August 2014 and the Constitution Amendment received the assent only on December 31, 2014,” Mr. Nariman said.
He said the Parliament could now, after receiving the President's assent to the Amendment, pass a fresh NJAC law.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Dushyant Dave supported the government, saying it was free to notify the law at a “politically opportune” time.
