Supreme Court signals openness to considering plea to revive NJAC

A decade after striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), the Supreme Court on Wednesday indicated that it is willing to examine a plea seeking its revival as an alternative to the present collegium system for appointing judges to the higher judiciary.

The observation came during a hearing when advocate Mathews Nedumpara made an oral request urging the Court to revisit its 2015 judgment and reconsider the collegium mechanism.

According to a New Indian Express report, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant responded briefly, saying, “Yes, we will see,” after Nedumpara argued that earlier benches had not adequately considered his submissions.

The exchange briefly turned light-hearted when the CJI switched to Hindi, remarking, “Ab hum Hindi mein jawab denge… jaan boojhkar yeh kar rahe ho tum… hum Hindi mein baat karenge (Now I will answer in Hindi… you’re doing this deliberately. We will speak in Hindi).”

When Nedumpara replied that he did not understand the language, the CJI clarified that the Court would nonetheless consider his plea.

The NJAC, introduced through a constitutional amendment, sought to replace the system of “judges appointing judges” with a commission that would have given the executive a greater role in judicial appointments.

In October 2015, a Constitution Bench, by a 4:1 majority, struck down both the amendment and the NJAC Act as unconstitutional, reinstating the collegium system.

While reaffirming judicial primacy in appointments, the bench at the time acknowledged that the existing system required reform. Justice J.S. Khehar, who authored the majority opinion, had observed that the collegium was “not perfect” and invited constructive suggestions to improve transparency and efficiency in judicial appointments.

With the latest development, the Court has left open the possibility, however remote, of revisiting a landmark judgment that has shaped judicial appointments for nearly a decade.

With agency inputs