Law minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday regretted the government’s lack of say in the appointments of high court and Supreme Court judges, harping on an issue that has in recent weeks witnessed a bout of sparring with the top court.

But the minister, who was speaking in the Rajya Sabha, sidestepped a question on whether the Centre planned to enact a law giving itself a role in the judicial appointment process. Rijiju said the government had received comments from many people, including former judges, legal luminaries and political leaders, disapproving of the Supreme Court’s 2015 judgment striking down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act that gave the government a bigger say in judges’ appointments.

“The government has very limited power in the appointment of judges. The government has no power to search for any new name apart from what the (Supreme Court) collegium has recommended,” Rijiju said to a question from Congress MP Rajiv Shukla.

“We only request the chief justices of high courts and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to expedite the appointments against vacant posts of judges. The recommended names should reflect the diversity of the country in terms of caste, religion and gender. But I feel that somehow things are not happening matching the sentiments of Parliament and the nation.”

Shukla asked Rijiju whether the government would restore the NJAC. “The Supreme Court stuck it down. Many retired judges, well-known jurists, politicians have said it was not correct to strike down the NJAC, which was unanimously passed by Parliament,” Rijiju said. Currently, the Supreme Court collegium of the five senior-most judges recommends judges for appointments and transfers, with the Centre allowed a single request for reconsideration before having to clear the names. Rijiju suggested that judicial vacancies — and the resultant backlog of cases — would remain until the Centre got a say in the selection of judges.

“We are extending all cooperation for addressing the pendency of cases. Till the time we do not put in place a new mechanism for appointment of judges, the issue of vacancy of judges and pendency of cases will keep coming,” Rijiju said.