New Delhi : The Supreme Court’s constitution bench would hear on Tuesday the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the NJAC Act and the constitutional amendment replacing the collegium system for judges’ appointment to higher judiciary by the NJAC on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the constitution bench would commence the hearing on April 21, as a notice issued by the apex court registry said: “Take notice that the matters shown below which are to be heard by Constitution Bench consisting of five Hon’ble Judges will be listed from Tuesday the 21st April, 2015.”
The hearing by the constitution bench that was to commence on Wednesday (April 15) did not take off as Justice Anil R. Dave – who was presiding the five-judge constitution bench – withdrew from the hearing following objection by one of the petitioners Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association (SCAORA).
Justice Dave recused himself after senior counsel Fali Nariman, appearing for the SCAORA, told the five-judge constitution bench that the National Judicial Appointment Commission has been notified and Justice Dave was an ex-officio member on it. And, thus, he was in a situation of conflicting duties.
They had sought a declaration that Justice Dave while hearing the matter would not participate in the National Judicial Appointment Commission Ac (NJAC).
Besides Justice Dave, other judges on the constitution bench are Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel.
The apex court bench of Justice Anil R. Dave, Justice J. Chelameswar and Justice Madan B. Lokur had on April 7 referred the matter to a larger bench saying that the iussues raised by the petitioners involved “substantial questions of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of India…”
Supreme Court Advocate on Record Association, NGOs Change India, Centre for Public Interest Litigation, Bar Association of India, senior counsel Bhim Singh, former Additional Solicitor General Bjshwajit Bhattacharyya, advocate Joseph Aristotal and Manohar Lal Sharma have challenged the constitutional validity of NJAC Act and constitutional amendment backing it.
Besides contending that the NJAC route for the selection and appointment of judges infringed on the independence of judiciary, the petitioners challenging the NJAC Act, 2014, have contended that Act could not have been passed in August 2014 as there was no supporting provision in the constitution.
The Constitution amendment came into effect only after December 31 assent by President Prabnab Mukherjee.
While Nariman on Wednesday (April 15) had described as “highly improper” the government notifying both NJAC Act, 2014 and the related constitution amendment on April 13, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said that government could not have waited indefinitely as it was answerable to the parliament.