New Delhi, Aug. 16 : Validating Monday's statement by Chief Justice T.S Thakur, the Congress on Tuesday said that independence and power of the judiciary is undermined.
"The CJI has done nothing but has expressed a combined sense of anguish, pain and firmness. I think it has been going on for too long. His views are clear and open. It does not take more than a few minutes or days to approve 75 vacancies or probably more than that. If the Prime Minister has no time to address these issues, then much of what he said would be considered empty rhetoric and chest thumping," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Shinghvi told ANI.
He said that Chief Justice Thakur was well within his rights to speak in a firm and civilized manner about the requirements of the judiciary.
"Its(judiciary's) independence is been assaulted by making it without manpower. Without judicial manpower, you cannot have an independent and effective judiciary. So, in a sense, this inaction of the government violates of the Constitution," he added. Chief Justice Thakur had on Monday expressed his disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Independence Day address, saying he had hoped there would have been a mention about the appointment of additional judges.
"I was hoping that there would be talks about justice, about the appointment of judges. These days, cases are piling up and so are people's expectations, which are making things very difficult.
Which is why I have time and again made this request so that attention be given to this matter as well," he said.
On Friday, the Supreme Court had criticized government accusing it of "sitting over" judges' appointments.
Chief Justice Thakur sought a reply from Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi over the delay in the appointment of judges as recommended by the collegium.
"Don't force us to pass orders to remove the logjam", he warned. The apex court asserted that time has come to take judicial note of appointments and transfers, which have not been made despite the collegiums' clearance eight months ago.
Regarding the collegium, the apex court stated that 75 names of high court judges have been cleared, but have not been approved.
Source: ANI
