PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday held the first Cabinet meeting of his new Government where the issue of bringing back the black money was discussed.
"It is a matter a great satisfaction that we have constituted a SIT to bring back black money as per SC orders...,” said new law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The establishment of a National Judicial Commission to give Executive a say in appointment of judges is another priority area for the Modi Government, Prasad said.
Prasad, who took charge as law Minister on Tuesday morning, also said increasing the strength of judges, improvement of court infrastructure to make justice more accessible and making India a hub of international arbitration and reconciliation cases will also remain his priority areas.
Responding to questions on the move of successive governments to replace the present collegium system where judges appoint judges, Prasad, who is himself a lawyer, said establishment of National Judicial Commission is part of the BJP’s manifesto.
“Surely I will go through the existing instrument which is there. If there is a need for some improvement or some more consultation, we may consider it. But today, I will have to go through it in some more detail,” he told reporters.
A parliamentary nod eluded the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill despite the UPA-II government in its last days agreeing to the demands by jurists and BJP to grant constitutional status to the proposed commission for appointment and transfer of judges to the higher judiciary to ensure that its composition cannot be altered through an ordinary legislation.
Responding to posers on blackmoney and SC granting more time to the government to form an SIT on the issue, Prasad said the issue of blackmoney is part of BJP’s manifesto.
When asked about death penalty, he said it is an issue on which there are a lot of views, for and against. He said to the best of his knowledge, there were differences among some SC judgements too.