Questions on pendency will be raised until procedure for appointment of judges is changed: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that until the procedure of appointment of judges is changed, questions regarding pendency of cases in Indian courts will continue to be raised..During question hour in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister was asked about the pendency of cases across the country, which is now nearing 5 crore."To tackle pendency, we (the government) are being supportive. But until the procedure for appointments is changed, questions regarding pendency and vacancies will be raised," he said in response..According to Rijiju, the main reason for pendency is the issue of appointment of judges.He underlined that Parliament had passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act in 2014, which was approved by two-thirds of the states as well. Further, he stated,"The Government has taken numerous steps to tackle pendency. Without referring to those (for paucity of time), I want to say that right now, the government has very limited power to fill vacancies. We only approve the names recommended by the Collegium. We have no authority to look for and recommend judges ourselves.".The Law Minister added that on multiple occasions, the government has requested Chief Justices of High Courts and the Supreme Court to expeditiously recommend judges, keeping in mind the diversity of the country, in order to fill vacancies. "We've also requested them to ensure that the appointments are high-quality and are also representative of the country's diverse population. But I feel that we're not able to work as per the sentiments of the House, the sentiments of the people," he said..Reiterating that the government should have a bigger role in appointing judges, he said,"I don't want to comment on the Court, because it might seem like government interference. But if you see the Constitution, the process of appointment of judges was the right of the government."On whether the government planned to revive the NJAC, he said,"Supreme Court's 5-member Bench struck it down. A lot of retired judges, including members of the Constitution Bench, said that the decision to strike down an enactment passed unanimously in the Parliament was not right.".Don't say government is sitting on Collegium files; but if you want to say so, then appoint judges on your own: Law Minister Kiren Rijiju