Judges' appointment bill: Not interfering with judiciary, says Centre

New Delhi: Seeking to overturn the present collegium system of appointment of judges through a Constitution amendment, the centre on Tuesday said it has no intention to interfere in the authority of the Judiciary.

Responding to a day-long debate on the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 in Lok Sabha, Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Centre favours independence of judiciary but the “sanctity” and “supremacy” of Parliament is equally important as it reflects aspirations of the people.

He said that the Centre has “no intentions” to interfere in the power and authority of the Judiciary and was only acting to have a “fair procedure” to appoint judges. This it intended to do while properly maintaining the “judicial dignity”, he said.

In his unfinished reply, Mr Prasad said that debate on the legislation has brought out that Parliament can have a high level of debate where members have the ability to rise above party affiliations.
The law minister will complete his reply on Wednesday following which voting will take place for the two Bills.