Have Suggested Supreme Court To Include Govt Nominee In Search Committee For Appointment Of Judges: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday disclosed that the government has suggested to the Supreme Court that the Search-cum-Evaluation Committee in respect of appointment of Judges in the Supreme Court and Chief Justices of High Courts should consist of a representative nominated by Government of India.

"For appointment of Judges in the High Courts, the Committee should consist of a representative nominated by Government of India and a representative of State Government(s) under the jurisdiction of High Court as nominated by the Chief Minister(s)," he further said.

The revelation comes soon after he dismissed certain media reports claiming that the government was seeking to include its nominee directly in the Collegium.

Rijiju said that no suggestion has been made to the Supreme Court to include a nominee of the Government in Collegium for appointments to higher judiciary.

Rather, he disclosed that earlier the government had suggested for a Screening cum Evaluation Committee at the Supreme Court and High Court levels to assist the Collegiums of Supreme Court and High Courts respectively. "It was proposed that the Committees may screen and evaluate relevant material on the suitability of the prospective candidates and would act as a facilitator. The decision to make recommendations will continue to be exercised by the respective Collegiums of the Supreme Court and High Courts."

However, the Supreme Court did not agree to set up such Committees, he said.

Recently, on January 6, Rijiju again wrote to the Supreme Court, emphasizing the need to finalize the Memorandum of Procedure for various judicial pronouncements and a Search-cum-Evaluation Committee with government nominee.

In his statement to the Rajya Sabha, Rijiju explained:

He added that this along with other measures suggested would pave the way for a more transparent, accountable and expeditious mechanism for the appointment of Judges to the Constitutional Court.