Brightening hopes for the resolution of impasse over appointment of judges to the higher judiciary, the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday said the new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for appointments in the High Courts and the Supreme Court was likely to be finalised by the end of the month.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice J.S.Khehar and Justice N.V.Ramanna said that the finalisation could happen "may be within this month". The bench was hearing a petition filed by Haryana-based advocate Satya Veer Sharma seeking greater transparency in appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.
The judiciary and the government have been locked in a tussle for over a year on the drafting of the new MoP, with the apex court rejecting many of the proposals made by the Centre, arguing that they would end up compromising the independence of the judiciary.
A five-judge bench headed by Khehar had struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), a law which had been passed by Parliament, as being unconstitutional. As it struck down the NJAC, the bench said a new MoP needed to be drafted to bring in greater transparency in the appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.
However, former chief justice T.S.Thakur was at loggerheads with the Centre on the issue of appointment of judges. On more than one occasion, he had even pulled up the government, saying it was causing great harm to the judiciary by blocking appointments.
The MoP had been stuck in an impasse, with the collegium headed by Justice Thakur sending back the draft prepared by the government, rejecting several clauses in it. After Khehar took over as the CJI, there were expectations that he would work towards a resolution of the differences between the government and the judiciary on the issue.
The earlier MoP was drafted by the government in 1999.
