Attempts to infringe on the freedom of the judiciary will not work, former Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur told DailyExpertNews today against the backdrop of increasing friction between the judiciary and the government over the subject of judicial appointments. He also questioned recent statements by Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticizing the judiciary, saying they are “completely unprovoked” and therefore “shocking”.
“There is no way the government can take away the independence of the judiciary through legislation or constitutional amendments,” said Judge Lokur, when asked about former justice minister Kapil Sibal’s allegation that the government tried to destroy the “last citadel of take away freedom. .
“It (independence of the judiciary) is part of the basic structure of the constitution. Independence of the judiciary is fundamental to democracy. So if any attempt is made to remove the independence of the judiciary in any way it will be an attack on democracy.” Judge Lokur said.
In an interview with DailyExpertNews earlier today, Mr. Sibal had said, “This (the judiciary) is the last citadel of freedom they have yet to capture. They have captured all the other institutions (excuse me) from the Election Commission to the post of Governors to Vice chancellors of universities at the ED (Enforcement Directorate) and the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), the NIA (National Investigation Agency) and of course the media.”
In recent weeks there has been a flurry of increasingly critical comments from the government about the judiciary and the process of appointments to the judiciary. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has also joined in demanding the reintroduction of the scrapped Judiciary Appointments Act, which gave the government more say in the process.
Mr Rijiju said long vacations from the Supreme Court are inconvenient for litigants and the court should not deal with “bail requests and frivolous PILs” at a time when pending cases are so high. The issue of vacancies and appointments in the higher judiciary will continue until a new system is introduced, the minister reiterated.
“Why shouldn’t the Supreme Court hear bail applications?” Justice Lokur interrogated. “Does the Attorney General want everyone in jail? Why shouldn’t public interest lawsuits be brought? Is he trying to say the Supreme Court should not act in the public interest? I can’t figure out what he’s trying to do transfer,” he added. The minister’s statement, he noted, is “not good for the judiciary, the government or the people of India.
Regarding the delay in approving judicial appointments, Judge Lokur pointed out that the recent appointment of Judge Dipankar Datta was approved by the government after two and a half months. When asked if this was intentional, he said, “It seems. What else could be the reason?”