NEW DELHI: Member of Parliament and senior advocate Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday questioned the understanding of politicians , saying MPs grasped very little about the implications of the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) before voting unanimously for it.

Jethmalani was firing on all cylinders against the government's intention to “tinker with judicial independence“ through the NJAC when a five-judge bench said, “Please respond to attorney general's argument that the constitutional amendment to bring in the NJAC was passed unanimously by both Houses of Parliament and now rati fied by more than 20 states, clearly indicating the will of the people.“ The bench added, “No bill has been passed with such unanimity except the bill for increase of MPs' salaries.“

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But the irrepressible Jethmalani was not to be outdone. “Does any MP understand what this NJAC is all about?“ he asked. He said the composition of the NJAC was fraught with the danger of executive interference in judicial independence as the government, through the law minister and one of the eminent persons, could veto the judiciary's choice for appointment as a judge.

He criticized the Centre's argument that eminent persons could be chosen not necessarily from the field of law. “Advocates are the most important part in the justice dispensation system. But there is no representation to the bar in the six-member NJAC,“ he said.

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The bench said Supreme Court Bar Association president and senior advocate Dushyant Dave had argued against inclusion of lawyers or representatives from the bar or Bar Council of India, which is the regulating body for legal professionals, in the NJAC under the eminent person category . Jethmalani replied, “If that is so, then all the accused in the 2G spectrum scam too are eminent persons and could be eligible to be chosen as members of the NJAC as they are innocent till pronounced guilty .“