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NEW DELHI: The war of words between the government and Supreme Court over judges’ vacancies and appointments in higher judiciary flared up again on Thursday with law minister Kiren Rijiju flagging concerns over huge pendency of cases and saying that the problems will linger till a new system of appointing of judges is in place.
This time, the minister chose the floor of Parliament to bring up the issue while responding to a question in Rajya Sabha on the large number of pending cases and pointed out the government’s ‘limited role” in appointing judges, a reference to the collegium system. PM Narendra Modi was present in the House when Rijiju was responding to the supplementaries.
Rijiju said it was worrying that over 5 crore cases were pending across the country, mainly due to judges’ vacancies.
The minister said he feels that “we are not working as per the spirit of the House and feelings of the people of the country”. “The government has very limited powers to fill vacancies of judges … We are giving our full support to reduce pendency of cases. But questions will keep arising on vacancy of judges and appointments till we create a new system for appointments,” he said, adding that the government cannot look for any names of judges other than those recommended by the collegium.
Asked if the government will revive the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, Rijiju said several retired judges, prominent jurists, advocates, lawyers and leaders of political parties have opined that striking down of the Act was not correct.
He said the government has also asserted in its request to the chief justices that while selecting judges, they must take into account the diversity of the nation that is home to many castes, communities and religion. “We also emphasise that names of women should be included while doing the selection,” he added.
In another supplementary, BJP’s Sushil Modi sought to know whether the government would consider discussing with the judiciary a possibility of doing away with the winter and summer vacations and replacing it with provision applicable at other working establishments. He highlighted that high courts have 155 holidays and Supreme Court 141.
In reply, Rijiju said while the government has limited powers to intervene in matters related to the judiciary, there is a feeling that long vacations are not very convenient for justice-seekers. “Definitely, as a law minister, it is also my bounden obligation and duty to convey the sense of this House to the judiciary,” he said.
This time, the minister chose the floor of Parliament to bring up the issue while responding to a question in Rajya Sabha on the large number of pending cases and pointed out the government’s ‘limited role” in appointing judges, a reference to the collegium system. PM Narendra Modi was present in the House when Rijiju was responding to the supplementaries.
Rijiju said it was worrying that over 5 crore cases were pending across the country, mainly due to judges’ vacancies.
The minister said he feels that “we are not working as per the spirit of the House and feelings of the people of the country”. “The government has very limited powers to fill vacancies of judges … We are giving our full support to reduce pendency of cases. But questions will keep arising on vacancy of judges and appointments till we create a new system for appointments,” he said, adding that the government cannot look for any names of judges other than those recommended by the collegium.
Asked if the government will revive the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act, Rijiju said several retired judges, prominent jurists, advocates, lawyers and leaders of political parties have opined that striking down of the Act was not correct.
He said the government has also asserted in its request to the chief justices that while selecting judges, they must take into account the diversity of the nation that is home to many castes, communities and religion. “We also emphasise that names of women should be included while doing the selection,” he added.
In another supplementary, BJP’s Sushil Modi sought to know whether the government would consider discussing with the judiciary a possibility of doing away with the winter and summer vacations and replacing it with provision applicable at other working establishments. He highlighted that high courts have 155 holidays and Supreme Court 141.
In reply, Rijiju said while the government has limited powers to intervene in matters related to the judiciary, there is a feeling that long vacations are not very convenient for justice-seekers. “Definitely, as a law minister, it is also my bounden obligation and duty to convey the sense of this House to the judiciary,” he said.
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