Law Minister's new message to the Supreme Court amidst the ongoing controversy over the appointment of judges

Amidst a war of words with the Supreme Court, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju once again asserted that the government has a very limited role in the appointment of judges. Rijiju was replying to a question in Parliament on the large number of pending cases. He criticized the collegium system of appointing judges. He said that it is worrying that more than five crore cases are pending across the country. The minister said that the main reason behind this is the appointment of judges. Rijiju said, "The government has taken several steps to reduce the pendency of cases, but the government has a very limited role in filling vacancies of judges".

She said that the government had often asked the Chief Justice of India and Chief Justices of High Courts to send names "(of judges) that reflect the quality and diversity of India and that have fair representation of women." He said that, but the present system did not reflect the sentiments of the Parliament or the people.

He said, "I don't want to say much because it may appear that the government is interfering in the judiciary, but the spirit of the Constitution says that it is the right of the government to appoint judges. This changed after 1993."

Rijiju also referred to the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act brought in in 2014, which was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015. The Law Minister said, "Until the process of appointment of judges is changed, the issue of vacant higher judicial posts will continue to arise."