New Delhi:Â How judges are promoted or transferred in India is set to change dramatically, with Congress deciding to support the government’s proposal. It is now certain that the proposed Bill will be passed by both houses of Parliament.
Judges are currently appointed by a collegium, the Supreme Court’s top five judges, headed by the Chief Justice of India.
Congress said this morning that it will back the new proposal which asks for judges to be appointed by a committee of 6-members: the Chief Justice of India, the Law Minister, two senior Supreme Court judges, and two eminent personalities.
The two eminent Indians are to be chosen by a group that is headed by the Prime Minister and includes the leader of the largest opposition party, which means Congress.
The current Parliament session is meant to end on Thursday, but the government is keen to extend it to allow for a discussion and vote on the new proposal for judges.Â
The plan to rework how judges are chosen comes as allegations of corruption have besmirched the judiciary. On Monday, the Chief Justice of India, R M Lodha, defended the existing collegium system. “If you say the collegium has failed, then everybody has failed. All the judges today were appointed by the collegium,” he said.Â
Congress’ cooperation will be welcomed by the government as a break from recent tradition. Congress blocked the government’s attempt to introduce a key reform – the Insurance Bill – in this session of Parliament. The call to increase foreign participation in the still-small insurance sector from 26% to 49% was seen as a primary part of the Prime Minister’s initiative to revive economic growth, which fell last year to 4.7%, the slowest in a decade.Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â