Supreme Court reserves verdict on maintainability of pleas against NJAC

Updated - November 16, 2021 05:12 pm IST - New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on maintainability of petitions challenging the validity of a constitutional amendment and the NJAC Act, meant to replace the two-decade old collegium system of judges appointing judges.

A three-judge bench of justices A.R. Dave, J. Chelameswar and Madan B. Lokur reserved the judgement after Attorney-General (AG) Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Centre, wrapped up his rejoinder arguments saying that the pleas be dismissed as they were “premature” and “academic” in nature.

Referring to various case laws, the AG said the power of Parliament to make law is “plenary” and hence, the methodology adopted by the legislature in clearing the law on the floor of the House cannot be “tested” by the court.

He was responding to submissions made by senior advocate F.S. Nariman that as per constitutional scheme, the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act should not have been passed ahead of enabling constitutional amendment.

“Where was the authority to pass the NJAC Act,” Mr. Nariman had asked and added that the Act should have been passed after the Constitutional Amendment.

“Only end product can be examined by the courts and it is irrelevant that this Act was passed earlier and that Act was passed later,” Mr. Rohatgi said, adding, “only an Act, after notification, can be tested in the court of law and not the procedures adopted by the Parliament.”

The apex court is hearing the matters to decide whether the petitions challenging the validity of the Constitutional Amendment Act and the NJAC Act were maintainable or not.

The Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) and Bar Association of India (BAI), represented by Mr. Nariman and Anil Divan respectively, opposed the two Acts and sought that direction be passed to maintain status quo, saying the entire process would otherwise become irreversible.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.