President Pranab Mukherjee today gave his assent to National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill. The Bill was passed by Parliament in August this year and 15 States have ratified it. The bill has provision to set up a National Judicial Appointments Commission to replace the present Collegium system of appointments of judges in higher judiciary. The Commission is expected to usher in transparency in judicial appointments in the highest courts. It will have the Chief Justice of India as chairperson and two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court as members, apart from the Union Law Minister and two eminent personalities, one of them would be nominated from among the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, minorities, Other Backward Classes or women.