Maintaining that the current process of appointing judges to Supreme Court and high courts through a collegium of five apex court judges had proved to be inadequate, Union Minister for law & Justice Ashwani Kumar said on Saturday that the Government had built political consensus over the need to broad base the process.
Kumar said that his Ministry had readied a draft Bill for setting up the National Judicial Appointments Commission, which would have legislative representation as well, besides the judiciary. "We have prepared the draft after holding wide ranging consultations with political leaders and legal experts," Kumar said.
According to Kumar, former Chief Justices of India Justice JS Verma and Justice MN Venkatachaliah are among those who have strongly backed the setting up of an independent body for appointment of judges to the higher judiciary.
Attributing the delays in the justice delivery system to a large number of unfilled posts, the Minister said: "Currently, there are over three crore cases pending in various courts across the country. We are taking steps to increase the number of judges as well as fast-tracking the appointment process".
On the initiatives being taken for providing cost effective justice for people, the Minister said that as many as 182 Gram Nyayalas were being set up at the inter-mediate panchayat level. Of these, 172 had already become operational.
In another measure, over 14,000 subordinate courts were being computerised to speed up justice delivery. "By expediting the appointment of judges, establishing e-courts, undertaking computerization, setting up fast track courts and initiating several other administrative measures, we intend to deal effectively with the slow pace of justice delivery in the country," Kumar said. On marital rape and reduction of the age of consensual sex from 18 to 16, Kumar said: "There are divergent views, all having considerable weight and therefore they need to be thoroughly debated.”