No primacy to CJI in statute, claims A- G
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi on Tuesday asserted before a five- judge Constitution bench that nowhere in the Constitution that primacy has been given to the Chief Justice of India in the matter of appointment of judges.
Making this submission before a bench of Justices J. S. Khehar, J. Chelameswar, Madan B. Lokur, Kurian Joseph and A. k. Goel, the A- G rejected the contentions of the petitioners challenging the validity of National Judicial Appointments Commission ( NJAC) and constitution amendment laws. He said a Constitution amendment could be challenged that it was against the basic strcutre only on grounds of unreasonableness, vagueness.
When he said that there was no primacy to the CJI in the original constitution, Justice Khehar told the A- G that after 1993 and 1998 judgments by nine judges, the position of law was well settled. Article 124 of the Constitution on appointment of judges has been interpreted and the CJI and members of the collegium had primacy in appointment of judges. Justice Khehar said, “You ( government) has accepted the position and said it is correct. You cannot now change your position. You have not challenged the nine- judge bench decision and had accepted the composition of the collegium. How can you now say it is wrong and we don’t accept it. You argue that the NJAC law does not violate basic structure and does not interfere with the independence of judiciary. Your argument will not have any effect as you have not challenged the nine-judge bench decision or had filed a review. It is dangerous you if change your opinion on every issue”
The A- G in a combative mood submitted “I am entitled to say that the decision of the nine- judge benches are wrong. How can I prevented from making this submission. What I am saying is there is no concept of collegium in the constitution and independence of judiciary was not absolute.”