The Lok Sabha is likely to approve the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, 2014 today with only two days left in the current session of Parliament.

The lower house yesterday concluded the debate on the Bill, which seeks to replace the existing collegium system of appointing judges under which the judiciary had the final say in the appointment process.

Piloting the bill, Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, the Bill was of great historic importance and was the culmination of preparations that had taken 20 years.

The collegium system had been in place since 1993. Mr Prasad said that the government has no intention to confront the judiciary.

However, the solemnity of Parliament is equally important. The Minister said the proposed Commission will be headed by the Chief Justice of India. In the proposed Commission, the judiciary will be represented by two senior judges of the Supreme Court.

Two eminent personalities and the Law Minister will be the other members of the proposed body.

The Constitutional Amendment Bill will scrap the present collegium system for the appointment of the judges of Supreme Court and High Courts.

He said the present bill has been brought after thorough discussions with all the stakeholders including political parties and members of the judiciary.

The Minister also introduced the 121st Constitution amendment Bill with insertion of new articles 124 A, 124 B and 124 C along with the Judicial Appointments Commission.

The debate on the Bill, which drew support from nearly all political parties, lasted for nearly two hours.

However, the passage of the Bill might not be smooth as concerns on the identity and qualification of eminent persons were expressed by many members.

During the discussion, M Veerappa Moily of the Congress has said the proposed Commission lacks transparency in the selection of judges to the higher judiciary.

Initiating the discussion in the Lok Sabha yesterday, the former Law Minister said the veto power in the collegium system is a more worrying factor as it imposes a unilateral decision. He said the presence of a lady member should be made mandatory in the proposed six-member Judicial Appointments Commission. S S Ahluwalia of the BJP said a new collegium system will be necessary to bring transparency in the appointments of judges.

He also said there should not be any rotation of members after the expiry of the three-year tenure.

The Congress said it will support the Bill in Parliament but with substantive amendments. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said there are some new provisions in the bill which tend to affect the independence of the judiciary and his party will move amendments in this regard.

He said the changes in the present bill, which were not there in the legislation brought by the UPA, will disturb the balance among the legislature, executive and judiciary.

He criticized the government for bringing the bill in the last days of current session saying such an important legislation needs proper discussion.