The Supreme Court of India was told that the entire country was suffering on account of bad politics by bad politicians, who should thus have no voice in the higher judicial appointments.
"We are suffering from bad politics and we are suffering from bad politicians. Whole political class is under cloud and should be kept out from the appointment of judges," senior counsel Ram Jethmalani told the constitution bench of Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar, Justice J. Chelameswar, Justice Madan B. Lokur, Justice Kurian Joseph and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel hearing challenge to the National Judicial Appointment Commission's constitutional validity.
The panel has the union law minster as one of the six members.
"This evil is avoidable and we must keep this evil out," he said.
Holding that the appointment of judges was a "paramount part" of the independence of judiciary, Jethmalani, appearing for one of the petitioners, argued that "If you start (the appointment process) fraudently the then judiciary will die".
Referring to the government stand that eligibility and suitability are different criteria, he wondered what government meant by the latter that will play independently in appointment of judges.
Divan urged the court that all the criteria should be incorporated in the constitution and not in the NJAC Act, 2014 which can be amended by the parliament by a simple majority.
As court sought to describe as "conjectures" Divan's apprehensions that the judges may soft paddle their opinions for their future prospects, Divan cited the instances in the past where judges have fallen prey to their "ambitions".