New Delhi [India], Nov. 27 : With Chief Justice of India (CJI) TS Thakur and the Centre locking horns yet again over the prolonged matter of judges' appointment, the Congress on Sunday issued a warning that if the judiciary and the executive don't respect each other, then the nation's democracy system will witness a collapse.
Speaking to ANI here, Congress leader PC Chacko said that the current situation was unwelcome in a democratic setup as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was showing scant regard and disrespecting.
"This issue has been pending for a long time. Neither the Prime Minister nor the Union Law Minister has ever come up with a satisfactory reply. The CJI requested the Prime Minister in public in a choked voice to fill up vacancies but the government seems to be unconcerned about it.
It clearly shows how insensitive it is," he said. Talking about Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi's statement that everybody, including the judiciary, must recognise there is a 'lakshman rekha' that ought not to be crossed, Chacko stated that the former's role was not to defend the government and its ministers on every statement made.
"His role is to take a stand in favour of the government in the court. He is not the person to decide what the lakshman rekha is. If the CJI will not speak on this issue then who will?," he added. The Congress leader further accused the Prime Minister of acting under the direction of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and said that a deliberate attempt was being made to scuttle the system.
Earlier, CJI Thakur emphasised that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government's attitude was lackadaisical from the very issue of filling vacancies to providing adequate infrastructure.
Stating that there are 500 judges' posts lying vacant in High Courts, Thakur said that courtrooms are lying vacant without judges.
He further said that in principle, the judiciary was not against the formation of Tribunals because it would relieve court duties, but the problem arose from the lack of adequate infrastructure provided to the Tribunals.
"Tribunals are not equipped and are lying empty. Today a situation has come that when no retired Supreme Court judge wants to head the Tribunal. I am pained to send my retired colleagues there. Government is not ready to give proper facilities. Vacancy apart from infrastructure is a major concern for the Tribunal," Thakur said. Meanwhile, stating that he "respectfully" disagrees with Thakur, Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the government has so far appointed 120 High Court judges, adding this is the second highest number of appointments in the history of the country's judicial system.
"We have got the highest regard for the CJI, but we respectfully disagree with him. This year we have made 120 appointments. This is the second highest after 121 were appointed in 2013. Since 1990 there had only been 80 appointments," Prasad, who was also present at the event, told the media later.
Prasad also said that the Supreme Court has failed to make the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), a document to guide appointment of judges to higher judiciary, more transparent and reasonable despite repeated requests from the government.
"But for the larger issue of appointment is concerned, there is a Supreme Court decision of making the MoP more transparent, objective, reasonable, fair and the government's stand is pending for more than three months and we are yet to hear from the Supreme Court," he said.
Responding to Justice Thakur's claim that there is a lack of adequate infrastructure provided to the tribunals, Prasad said, "As far as infrastructure is concerned, it is a continuous process.
So many tribunal courts are there. But we need to understand that every retired Supreme Court judge cannot be given the same bungalow of the same size, there is land constraint also.".
Source: ANI
