New Delhi : Opponents of the new system of higher judicial appointments on Friday attacked in the Supreme Court the Centre’s “late” demand for a larger bench to hear the challenge saying “the whole court is held up for no purpose”.
Noted jurist Fali S Nariman, appearing for the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA), told a five-judge bench headed by Justice J S Khehar that parties have been arguing on merits in the case till recently when Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi “started by saying that there is case of reconsideration of the 1993 and 1998 judges case judgements”. Alleging loss of judicial time, he said, “the whole (Supreme) court is held up for no purpose”. Nariman said the five-judge bench, also comprising Justices J Chelameswar, M B Lokur, Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, is entitled to hear the case completely.
“The Centre’s stand is that the second judges case is gone after Article 124A (brought by 99th Constitutional amendment). But they ask for its reconsideration by larger Bench which is the dichotomy. It is like putting the cart before the horse,” he said
“If you are asking for reference to a larger Bench, it means you accept that Second Judges case still stands; but you (AG) also contend that it has been wiped out by Article 124A. You can’t take both the stands,” said Nariman, who will resume his arguments on the issue of referring the case to a larger bench on Monday.
He further said that the Centre has “knocked the bottom out of it” and “destroyed the root” and hence, there was nothing left to be referred to the larger bench. Nariman further said that a new law has been enacted and its validity has to be tested on the premise as to whether it dilutes the independence of judiciary.
“All the judgements have become irrelevant as you (Centre) have changed it,” said the bench, which also took up the issue of appointment of existing additional Judges of High Courts, whose tenure is coming to end in the immediate future. Rohatgi assured the bench that “the issue would be sorted by Monday” and “we are concerned that Additional judges on completion of their tenure have nothing to lose”.
