Law Min and CJI at impasse: Central government awaits CJI’s nod for NJAC to become reality

The appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts has been put on hold by the Central Government until the PILs in the Apex Court challenging the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill are dealt with, said Union Law Minister Sadananda Gowda in a recent report in the Economic Times..The report quoted Gowda as saying,.“The ball is in CJI’s court as he is the chief of NJAC and his cooperation is very much needed for framing of rules and appointing two eminent personalities. There should not be any confrontation… If (CJI) says go ahead, we can do it, otherwise it will be a problem.”.Chief Justice Dattu had earlier said that the collegium system for appointing judges would continue until the NJAC Bill comes into force and gets notified by the Central Government..Previously, the Supreme Court had dismissed PILs challenging the NJAC on account of their being premature after the Lok Sabha passed the Bill in August last year. Last month, Gowda had said that the Bill was ratified by a majority of the state assemblies. After the Bill received the President’s assent, the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association and others challenged its constitutionality in the Apex Court..With the Law Ministry and the Chief Justice in a deadlock over what the most appropriate action should be, the fact remains that most High Courts face an acute shortage of judges. According to a study conducted by the Department of Justice in November last year, 35.5% of judges’ positions at High Courts are vacant. The High Court of Gowda’s home state Karnataka leads the way with 48.4% vacancies, followed by Allahabad and Rajasthan with 46.9% and 44% respectively.