How will NJAC make judiciary meaningful, asks SC

New Delhi, May 1: The Supreme Court Friday asked how the tiol Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) mechanism would make judicial functioning “meaningful” and in what way would its members be “accountable” and to whom. A constitution bench of Justice J.S.Khehar, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice A.K. Goel posed the questions in reference to the statement of objects and reasons given in the tiol Judicial Appointment Commission Act, 2014. This reads: “The said commission would provide a meaningful role for the judiciary, the executive and eminent persons to present their view points and make the participants accountable, while also introducing transparency in the selection process.” “What meaningful role there are talking about. How can they make participants accountable?” Justice Khehar asked senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan who had appeared as an intervener in the hearing of the challenge to the constitutiol amendment act and ebling NJAC Act, 2014. “We are asking you this to understand before we ask them (government),” he told Dhavan who pleaded ignorance, saying “I don’t know... let them (government) answer this”. Besides these two twin questions, the court too had some misgiving on the possible profile of the two eminent persons who would be a part of the NJAC and would be selected by a committee comprising the prime minister, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and the chief justice of India. This query came as Dhavan assailed the provision, asking how two politicians with the CJI “sandwiched” between them will decide on two laymen interfering in the judicial appointments. (IANS)