New Delhi: After the Supreme Court upheld the collegium system of appointment of judges and struck down the constitutional amendment that introduced National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) on Friday, eminent lawyers and former judges welcomed the decision.
Giving out the details of the order, senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan said that the government's law has been struck down. "The collegium will continue. The court said that the government's law of bringing in the NJAC would hamper the independence of the judiciary. The old collegium system gets restored from today for the time being,"he said.
Taking a different view, senior lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani said that the NJAC would not have undermined the independence of judiciary. However, he maintained that the supremacy of the judiciary has been upheld. "There is a need for transparency . The appointment of judges should come under RTI,"he said.
Another senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam claimed that it is "too unfortunate" that that the NJAC has been struck down. "I think now it is for the SC to make full proof system so that there is no suspicion. SC has also agreed that there shud be some internal mechanism and should not be any interference," he said.
Relieved over the verdict, senior lawyer Sanjay Hegde said that the NJAC is violative of the basic stricture of the constitution. "The independence of the judiciary is non-negotiable," he said.
Eminent senior lawyer Indira Jaising hailed the apex court's decision. She said that the Supreme Court has reaffirmed independence of the judiciary.
Echoing the same sentiments, Petitioner Suraj Singh said that the NJAC violated the basic structure of the Constitution.
Senior advocate and petitioner Bhim Singh was also critical of the NJAC. he said that the new law aimed at weakening the Constitution.
Former Supreme Court Judge A K Ganguly said the existing system is better in upholding independence of Judiciary.
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