During his brief tenure, Kiren Rijiju had several run-ins with the Supreme Court over judicial appointments.
New Delhi:
Shortly after his surprise removal from the Ministry of Justice, Kiren Rijiju posted a tweet today thanking India’s Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and all the judges for their “tremendous support”.
In a surprise reshuffle, Kiren Rijiju was transferred to the Ministry of Earth Sciences and replaced by Arjun Ram Meghwal, who takes over as Minister of Law just a year before the national elections.
It has been a privilege and an honor to serve as Union Minister of Law and Justice under the leadership of the Honorable Prime Minister Shri. @narendramodi ji. I thank the honorable Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, all the Justices of the Supreme Court, Chief Justices and Judges of the High Courts, Lower… pic.twitter.com/CSCT8Pzn1q
– Kiren Rijiju (@Kiren Rijiju) May 18, 2023
“I thank Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, all Supreme Court Justices, Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts, Lower Judiciary and all Law Officers for tremendous support in ensuring ease of justice and providing legal services to our citizens, Kiren Rijiju tweeted.
“I look forward to fulfilling (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi’s vision in the Ministry of Earth Sciences with the same zeal and strength that I absorbed as a humble karyakarta of BJP,” he said.
Mr. Rijiju, a three-term Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh, was the Minister of Sports when he was assigned the Ministry of Justice on 7 July 2021 following the departure of Ravi Shankar Prasad.
During his short tenure, Mr. Rijiju had several run-ins with the Supreme Court over judicial appointments.
In November last year, he had said the collegiate system of judges appointing judges to higher courts was “alien” to the Constitution. In January, he also wrote to Chief Justice Chandrachud for the inclusion of government nominees in the collegium system.