Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has indicated that the Supreme Court may revisit the debate over the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), a mechanism once proposed to replace the existing collegium system for appointing judges.
The observation came after advocate Mathew Nedumpara raised the NJAC issue orally in court, urging a reconsideration of the collegium system and a fresh review of the 2015 judgment that struck down the NJAC. Nedumpara argued that earlier benches had not given sufficient attention to his submissions.
Responding to the plea, the CJI remarked, “We will look into it,” signaling a possible re-examination of one of India’s most debated judicial reforms. Several foreign judges were also present in the courtroom during the exchange.
The NJAC Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment—which aimed to include elected representatives and civil society in the selection of judges to higher courts—were invalidated by the Supreme Court in 2015 by a 4:1 majority, reinstating the collegium as the sole appointment authority.
