The new national judicial appointment council (NJAC) system has raised some very serious issues. Under this system the judges are appointed by a council consisting cji and 2 senior most sc judges and the union law minister and 2 eminent persons. These eminent persons are nominated by a committee of pm, cji and opposition leader. In this system the possible outcome of vote and the probability of political influence is the subject of this post.
There are two bodies: committee appointing judges and committee nominating 2 eminent persons. I would state the configuration of 2 bodies:
Committee appointing judges
- CJI
- Senior most sc judge
- Senior most sc judge
- Union law minister
- Eminent person
- Eminent person
Committee nominating 2 eminent persons
- Prime minister
- CJI
- Opposition leader
Under this system the possible votes on appointment of judge will be:
1.6:6 = full approval or disapproval of the body
2. 3:3 = tie up
3. 4:2 = majority/political influence
4. 5:1 = majority/political influence
Out of 4 cases the case 3 and 4 there are chances of political influence in appointment of judge. The probability of occurrence of such majority would be 2:4 or 50%.
The case 2is a tie up with equal votes on both sides. The probability of occurrence of such tie up would be 1:4 or 25%.
The case 1 is full approval or disapproval of the body. The probability of such a case is again 1:4 or 25%.
Under this system the possible votes on nomination of 2 eminent persons would be:
- 3:3 = full approval or disapproval of the body
- 2:1 = majority /political influence
So out of 2 cases the probability of occurrence of political influence would be 1:2 or 50%.
Now, would the good old collegiums system any better?
Under that system a body of cji and 2 senior most sc judges and cj of high court and 2 hc judges would appoint judge. In that case the chances of political influence will be 0%. Its an all judges case.
So, clearly in the new system the chance of political influence has increased from 0% to 50%.
What does that mean ?
Now our judiciary can be divided into 2 broad parts: higher court and lower court. If you take a narrow view the higher courts will certainly come under political influence. Cases involving Mps and MLAs would go fast track which means fast track injustice. If justice delayed means justice denied then justice fast tracked would also mean justice denied.
If you take a broad view, then you see that the lower courts are already under political influence. The only hope was higher courts which is now fading quickly under new NJAC system.
In the near future cases involving influential politicians will not be dealt with impartially. Many people will suffer for that.
Secondly, this NJAC is built on merit basis. It means that any lower grade judge will please the politicos to move into the ladder quickly. They will also deal with the political case very partially to please the politicos. The justice would be totally denied in these cases.
