New Delhi : Noted jurist Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday attacked the Centre’s defence of the new law on appointment of judges saying it would compromise with the independence of the judiciary and give primacy to the executive.
Questioning the need for a new system of appointment of judges replacing the collegium, he was responding to the submissions made by the Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi which he termed as ‘insulting’ and ‘disgrace to the nation’. “I am appalled at the submissions made by the Attorney General (AG) in his four-volume response. It is insulting to hear the AG. The only issue is the primacy of CJI in the appointment of the judges which is the basic feature of the Constitution”, Jethmalani said.
“If the previous decision of this court by a bench of equivalent strength has come to a conclusion that there is a primacy of judiciary in the judicial appointments and is the basic feature of the Constitution, it can certainly not be modified”, he submitted before a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice J S Khehar.
