APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES

<strong>CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF LAW AND GOVERNANCE Jawaharlal Nehru University</strong> SEMINAR SERIES <strong>P. PUNEETH</strong> Associate Professor, CSLG, JNU on <strong>APPOINTMENT OF JUDGES TO HIGHER JUDICIARY IN INDIA: CONTEMPORARY DEBATES </strong> <strong>Abstract :</strong> Appointment of judges to higher judiciary is one of the intensely debated topics in India since 1960s. Debates over the topic gained more momentum in 1990s after the establishment of the collegium system by replacing the original system of appointment of judges envisaged in the Constitution. This has tilted the constitutional balance completely in favour of the judiciary. In order to restore the constitutional balance and to accord meaningful role for the executive in the matter of appointment of judges, the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) was brought into existence in 2014. It has replaced the collegium system. This move has generated fresh round of debates on the topic in the court room, academic circles and political precincts. The creation of NJAC is completely clouded with controversies as a result of which it has not yet been made functional. This institutional deadlock has created a constitutional crisis. The talk will provide critical perspectives on these developments and debates. The talk highlights how debates and discourses on the subject focus mainly on the power of appointment and the procedure to be followed in appointing judges than on qualities and level of competence of a person to be appointed as judge. It also examines the issues relating to the constitutional validity of NJAC and explores what needs to be done to address the apprehension that NJAC affects independence of judiciary. <strong>Friday, 04 September, 2015</strong> <strong>About the Speaker:</strong> P. Puneeth is an Associate Professor of Law in the Centre for the Study of Law and Governance, JNU. He has done his B.A.L., LL.B, LL.M. and Ph. D. from Bangalore University, Bangalore, Karnataka. His teaching and research areas of interests are Constitution and Administrative Law, Judicial Process, Law and Justice in a Globalizing World, and Criminal Law. His doctoral work was on the topic "Impact of Global Regulatory Regime on Indian Constitution: A Critical Study." He has participated in many national and international seminars and presented papers. He is a regular contributor for the Annual Survey of Indian Law and also published papers in journals of national and international repute. He has recently contributed for Jindal Global Law Review (2011), Delhi Law Review (2011), Bangalore Law Journal (2012) and CNLU Law Journal (2014). Before joining the Centre, he was serving the Indian Law Institute (ILI) – the premier Institute for legal research and higher education in law in the country - since 2006 as Assistant Professor of Law. He also served as a Member of the Board of Studies and the Academic Council of ILI. He worked as the Assistant Editor of the prestigious Journal of the Indian Law Institute.