Government will implement court order on judges appointments: Arun Jaitley

NEW DELHI: Days after criticising the Supreme Court on National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC), Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said the court order on appointments to higher judiciary will be accepted.

"All court orders have to be accepted. I can't decide it's a right order or wrong order. I am entitled to say that it's an incorrect order but I have to obey even an incorrect order. That's the rule of the law," Jaitley said.

But he added there cannot be a system which is not in line with what has been provided in the Constitution with regard to appointment of judges.

"...Supreme Court has struck down the NJAC. But debate will continue on evolving a better and transparent system," Jaitley said.

Earlier in a Facebook post, Jaitley had faulted the Supreme Court verdict for re-legislating collegium system. He had insisted that Indian democracy cannot be a "tyranny of the unelected" and to strengthen independence of judiciary, one does not have to weaken Parliamentary sovereignty.

The Supreme Court on October 16 had struck down as unconstitutional the NJAC Act that was brought in to replace the over two-decade-old collegium system of judges appointing judges in the higher judiciary.