I am not satisfied with collegium system and majority of judges agree with me: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

The Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, on Friday, said that he is not satisfied with the collegium system of appointing judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts, adding that most judges also share his sentiment..The Law Minister said that though the Supreme Court struck down the National Judicial Commission (NJAC) Act in 2015, it did not provide a better alternative."They did not tell what is the better option, they felt that the old collegium system should continue. It is continuing, I am not satisfied with the present system. I spoke it out. And majority of the judges, they agree with me, because what I am saying is (a) fact," he remarked.He was responding to question put to him about the Collegium system at the India Today conclave held in Mumbai."You have caused quite the storm in the Supreme Court and in the legal fraternity by the statement that you made and let me quote, 'people are not happy with the collegium system for the appointment of judges'. Who are the people who are not happy sir?" asked the interviewer..The Law Minister emphasised that he was merely stating the fact by criticising the existing system of appointing judges, and even lawyers and judges also share the same views."First of all I am not critical about the judiciary or the judges. But I am stating a fact which is reflection of the thinking of the common people of India. When we talk about system, then immediately what comes to mind is transparency and accountability. When there is a system in place which is not accountable and which is not transparent, which is opaque, then if the concerned minister doesn’t speak out, who else should," he demanded. .Further advocating for the NJAC, Rijiju disclosed that there was a lot of politics within the judiciary when it came to appointing judges to Constitutional courts."The politics that we politicians do is nothing in front of the politics which happens inside judiciary. It is not visible but it is intense politics. Because they are part of the selection process," he said.Nowhere across the globe do judges appoint other judges and this time consuming process is peculiar to India, he added..The Law Minister also pointed to what he believed was a fundamental flaw in the system, stating that judges cannot recommend someone they do not know. As a result of this flaw, instead of choosing the most qualified candidate the collegium chooses someone they know or are acquainted with."The fittest of the persons should be elevated as judges, not the person whom you know.. No system can be 100 per cent perfect. But we definitely should look for the better system, the better practice.".Rijiju also highlighted the vital role played by government in choosing judges.In this regard, he said that judges themselves did not have access to reports and other information that the government did. He also underscored that he would be failing in his responsibility if he did not carry out due diligence."We have mechanism in place through my department of justice and other reports. So we carefully deal with all the issues and we come to the conclusion that government should agree to a particular name.".He went on to note that Indian judges are burdened with a large amount of work and thus, need time to confine themselves to what is expected of them instead of carrying out tasks outside their jurisdiction."So that is why I have always being saying that judges should be confined to what is expected of them and not be made to do something else, which is not their jurisdiction actually, but system has been such that we cannot do anything at the present time.".This is not the first instance when Rijiju has taken a poor view of the collegium system. Recently, he said that politics within the judiciary when it comes to appointment of judges is not visible to the common man, and that the Collegium system is too opaque.