In an apparent rethink in the party over a key issue, Congress today spoke of the need for the widest possible consensus on the Judicial Appointments bill, a measure which was pushed by the previous UPA-II government.
A senior party leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "We feel that because of the recent negative atmospherics, a wrong impression should not go to the judiciary."
He said it was important to be careful and cautious and that more consultations should be held for the widest possible consensus in the matter.
The Congress leader insisted that the independence of the judiciary was of paramount importance.
Former Law Minister Salman Khurshid, himself a lawyer, is not in favour of the bill and is learnt to be meeting ex-law ministers Kapil Sibal and Veerappa Moily to firm up an opinion on the issue after which they will apprise Congress chief Sonia Gandhi about the same.
Asked why the party was changing its stand after having pushed the bill in the past, he said that at the time, "we were not sending back the names of judges sent by the Supreme Court Collegium". The apparent reference was to the Gopal Subramanium controversy.
"There is no harm in pausing and seeing whether something is wrong. When you are driving and you see a ditch on the road, you slow down," the leader said.
The above remarks come at a time when a proposal to change the existing system of appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts is "under active consideration" of the government.
"There is a proposal to change the existing system of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts and transfer of the judges of the high courts. The matter is under active consideration of the government," Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The government's response came two days after the Union Cabinet discussed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014.
