Kiren Rijiju has been replaced as the Law Minister by Arjun Ram Meghwal

In a rather unanticipated move, the Union Law Minister, Kiren Rijiju has been removed from his position and has been replaced with Arjun Ram Meghwal who will now have independent charge of the Ministry in addition to his other portfolios.

The official announcement states that Mr. Rijiju has been assigned to the Ministry of Earth sciences by President Murmu based on the advice of PM Modi.

Following the exit of Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Mr. Rijiju had taken charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice on 7th July, 2021. While his term was brief, it was full of controversies primarily because of the frequent run-ins between the government and the judiciary. He was vocal about his criticism with regards to appointment to the judiciary and especially the take of the Supreme Court over the collegium system of judges appointing judges.

He had also referred to the Collegium system as the “Uncle Judge Syndrome”. His opinion was that if someone knew someone who had been appointed as a judge, their name was highly likely to be recommended as opposed to another impactful advocate who perhaps does not have the right connections and doesn’t know any influential judges.

Kiren Rijiju was also of the opinion that the collegium system is alien to the Constitution and doesn’t have the support of the public. This had further escalated the already-tense situation between the Government and the Judiciary.

This change comes at a time when the Government and Judiciary have not been on the same page with regards to appointment of judges.