<span style="color: #222222;">The Lok Sabha has passed the High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 by voice vote. <br />''<br />''Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said, the amendment bill seeks to address the anomalies in the disbursal of pension of retired Supreme Court and High Court judges. The amendments entitle them to an additional quantum of pension or family pension when they attain a certain age in accordance with a specified scale. The scale contains five age brackets with a minimum age of 80 years.<br />''<br />''While replying to the debate on the Bill, Kiren Rijiju said, the Government is receiving many suggestions from several sections including retired judges, NGOs and civil society expressing reservations against the present Collegium System on the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary. Mr Rijiju said, he is also getting suggestions to bring a new National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.<br />''<br />''Referring to vacancies in the Apex court and the High Courts, the Law Minister said, after the Collegium gives a set of names, they need to be processed by showing due diligence and by following the procedures. He said, working on a rigid time frame would not be advisable in the matter. The Minister said, he has asked all the High Court Chief Justices to take into account the need to have equitable representation of all sections of the society while deciding on the names for the appointment of judges.<br />''Mr Rijiju praised the judiciary for hearing a record number of cases through means like video conferencing during the Covid-19 led lockdown. He said, the video-conferencing facilities and e-Court systems are being augmented across the country.<br />''Mr Rijiji reiterated that the Government never encroaches upon the domain of the judiciary, adding, the judiciary has its own independence just as the executive and the legislature.<br />''<br />''The Law Minister said, the present Government has done what the Congress-led government wanted to do earlier, and also what it did not do in the legal sphere. He said, the Centre is working with the state governments to promote fast track courts and asked the West Bengal Government to cooperate with the Centre in the matter.<br />''<br />''Mr Rijiju said, pendency of cases is a matter of concern saying there are about 4.5 crore cases that need to be disposed of. However, he noted that 90 percent of the cases are pending with the lower courts. He asked the cooperation of all stakeholders including the judiciary, the states, the advocates, litigants and others to overcome the issue. Earlier, the Bill was introduced in the Lower House by Minister Kiren Rijiju on November 30. The House discussed the Bill in detail yesterday. </span><br />