Congress promises to turn SC into Constitutional Court, set up Court of Appeals

The Congress also proposed to fix retirement age of judges at 65 years, reverse under-representation of women in judiciary & earmark more funds for judiciary.

Interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi with son Rahul Gandhi | PTI file photo

New Delhi: The Congress Tuesday promised in its election manifesto a major shift in the country’s judicial structure by proposing to turn Supreme Court into a Constitutional Court. Besides, it also promised to fulfill the long-standing demand of setting up a Court of Appeals.

With a little over a week left before the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections begins, the Congress proposed a slew of important judicial reforms in its manifesto. ThePrint takes a look at some of these promises.

Constitutional Court and Court of Appeals

The Congress proposed to introduce a Bill to amend the Constitution to transform the Supreme Court into a Constitutional Court, which would simply hear and decide cases involving the interpretation of the Constitution and other cases of legal or national importance.

The Congress also said it planned to introduce a Court of Appeals, which would act as a layer between the High Courts and the Supreme Court, and would hear challenges to High Court judgments. Multiple benches of this Court of Appeals would be constituted comprising three judges each in at least six locations.

Appointment of judges

Learned, independent and upright judges are the core of the judiciary, the Congress said in its manifesto. To appoint judges, the Congress said it would establish a National Judicial Commission (NJC). The NJC, comprising judges, jurists and parliamentarians, would be serviced by a secretariat and would be responsible for selection of judges for appointment to the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

Names of suitable candidates will be placed in the public domain and the reasons for selection will be published to ensure that the entire process is transparent, the Congress said.

Once the new system is in place, the Congress will endeavour to fill every vacancy in the High Courts or Supreme Court within two months. The Congress also plans to establish, by law, an independent Judicial Complaints Commission to investigate complaints of misconduct against judges and recommend suitable action to the Parliament, the manifesto stated.

Representation of women and the marginalised

The Congress promised to reverse under-representation of women in the judiciary. It also sought to enhance representation of Dalits and other marginalised sections at all levels of the judiciary.

Post-retirement jobs and retirement age of judges

The Congress proposed to fix the retirement age of judges of High Courts and the Supreme Court at 65 years. The retirement age for judicial members in commissions and tribunals shall also be 65 years, the manifesto said. This will prevent post-retirement assignments for serving judges and allow more opportunities for qualified persons to serve as judges or judicial members, the Congress said.

Allocation of funds

Presently, the allocation of budget towards the judiciary is of grave concern. In 2017, the financial budget had earmarked Rs 1,174.13 crore for the judiciary. This was a mere 0.4 per cent of the total budget. The Congress in the manifesto stated it would “allocate sufficient funds annually to provide the necessary infrastructure for the judiciary”.

Use of technology

The Congress also proposed it would work in tandem with the judiciary to improve the administration of courts by introducing modern technology and appointing professionals for court and roster management. It said it would also encourage the judiciary at all levels to adopt technological tools to track cases and expedite the hearing and decisions on cases.