Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Jay Panda said on Tuesday that the there needs to be a balance between the executive, legislature and the judiciary for the appointment of judges.
Panda told ANI, "In all democracies there is a balance between the executive, legislature and the judiciary for the appointment of judges. In India, the collegiums system was created to counter balance the complete dominance of the executive which had led to certain problems. But the present system is also leading to problems as lawyers and judges are themselves pointing out.
"So there has to be checks and balances to ensure that the people with the greatest integrity and legal acumen become our judges. It cannot be like only the judiciary will appoint the judges or only the executive or the legislature," he added.
In a judgment passed in 1993, a nine judge bench of the SC had established the primacy of the judiciary in the appointment of judges.
Under the collegium system, the government has no say in the appointment of judges, as the collegium is the final authority.
Retired Justice Markandey Katju had said earlier today that there should be a seven member national judicial commission including the senior most judges of the Supreme Court, the Law Minister and the Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha, to appoint judges.
"They should hold a meeting and it should be televised so that all people in India can see it and there is total transparency. They should call the prospective candidate and ask him questions about his earlier functioning as a High Court judge and also his personal life, as is done in the United States," Katju had told ANI.
