Supreme Court slams Govt, says can’t let you decimate the system
NB: The Modi government wants a pliable judiciary dominated by the executive, but of course only as long as that executive is largely controlled/dominated by the RSS. In India the fascists will subvert the constitution through an accumulation of surgical strikes, and one of the most devastating, if they succeed, will be a subjugated, brainwashed judiciary. (Comment by a friend)
Questioning if the
Central government wants the entire judicial system to be “locked out”, the
Supreme Court said today that it “cannot allow the executive to decimate the
system” by what it called was its “inaction, inefficiency or unwillingness” to
appoint judges. Lashing out at the
government for sitting over the files of judges’ appointments despite clearance
by the collegium nine months ago, a bench led by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur
said that the government can niether “scuttle the working of the institution”
nor be allowed “to bring the entire system to a grinding halt”.
The bench told
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that although the judiciary would not want a
“clash” with any other institution, it was for the government to make sure such
a situation is averted.
“This system of
appointing judges (collegium) has worked well till date. We want this
cordiality (with the government) to continue but we cannot allow the
institution to be decimated by inaction, inefficiency or unwillingness of the
executive.you cannot decimate the system,” the bench, also comprising Justices
D Y Chandrachud and L N Rao, told the AG.
Hearing a clutch of
PILs on shortage of judges and delays on the part of the government in making
appointments, the bench got upset after Rohatgi put forth a list of names
cleared by them since October 3. The AG said 18 names
had been cleared but appointments would take another two weeks. When asked by
the CJI, the AG said out of eight names approved by the collegium for
appointment as judges in Allahabad High Court, only two were cleared. This
irked the bench which sought to know what caused the delay when the eight names
had been recommended by the collegium in February.
“What about the
remaining six names? You don’t make appointments nor do you send back the names
if you have any objection. Who are the officials concerned? We will have
Secretary, PMO; and Secretary, Justice Department summoned here and they will
now have to explain the delay,” retorted the bench. At this, the AG
brought up the issue of the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which will guide
future appointments after it is finalized by the judiciary and the government.
Rohatgi pointed out that although one year has gone by, the MoP, in terms of
the October 2015 judgment by a five-judge Constitution Bench, was yet to be
finalized.
But the bench called
this argument a “red herring” and clarified that until the new MoP is framed,
appointments will keep happening on the basis of the old guidelines. It further
reminded the AG that the government itself had declared that modification of
the MoP had nothing to do with appointments.“You have cleared 88
names after the judgment. Have you changed your mind now and want a deadlock in
matters of judges’ appointments?,” it asked the AG, who replied that the
government did not want a stalemate but the old MoP was not in line with the
October 2016 judgment that had quashed the National Judicial Appointments
Commission (NJAC) but favoured a new mechanism.
However, the CJI
discarded Rohatgi’s argument, saying: “Let us make it clear to you that
appointment cannot stop for want of a new MoP. You cannot bring the entire
institution to a grinding halt by insisting on a new MoP. Where is the question
of sitting over names? You have cleared two out of eight names (in Allahabad HC)
while the second lot is still pending. You cannot do that. Ultimately, we are
the casualty of this delay and inefficiency.”
When the AG said that
the new MoP could fasten the process, the court said that if the government
chose to stick to this argument then they would sit in a five-judge bench and
declare it once and for all that new MoP cannot impede the process of judicial
appointments. “You cannot scuttle
the working of the institution like this.are you waiting for some revolutionary
changes in the system? It is not adversarial. It is not about ego of
individuals. We don’t want to pass judicial orders in such matters. But this
cannot go on like this. We don’t want to create a very bad situation where one
institution has to clash with another institution. Please don’t compel us,”
said the bench.
The court underlined
that out of a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, only 77 judges were there in
Allahabad High Court. “In Karnataka High Court, half the courtrooms are locked
because there are no judges. There was a time when you had no courtrooms for judges
and now most of the courtrooms are locked. You should very well have the whole
institution.justice locked out,” it said.
The bench said that
judges in the collegium were also human beings and they could make errors of
judgments in recommending names for appointments but the government has to send
them back with objections and not sit over them indefinitely, stalling the
whole process. With the writing on
the wall, the AG pleaded for some time to enable him deliberate with the
competent authorities and revert with positive updates after the Diwali break.
The court then fixed the matter for November 11 when the government would
adduce a fresh status of judicial appointments.
see also
Bharat Bhushan - RSS chief Golwalkar threatened to kill Gandhi - 1947 CID report
Bharat Bhushan: BJP icon SP Mookerjee complicit in raising funds for defending Gandhi's assassins
Bharat Bhushan: BJP icon SP Mookerjee complicit in raising funds for defending Gandhi's assassins
