Constitutional bodies facing erosion of credibility, laments minister

It is unfortunate that the Constitutional institutions like the Supreme Court and the high courts are losing the credibility, trust and faith reposed in the common man on them, lamented Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H K Patil.

He was speaking at a convention of elected representatives organised, as part of Rajatayana- Rajat Aadalitha, by Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Ashram here on Friday.

"Senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan has questioned the action of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra in constituting a Constitutional Bench in medical college bribery scam case. Bhushan has questioned the commitment of the CJI in a series of tweets. This incident has shaken the faith reposed by the common man on the apex court. People approach courts seeking justice. Such action/behaviour will erode the credibility of the justice system," the minister felt.

Earlier, a social activist during a hearing of a matter at Karnataka High Court had told the sitting judge in the court hall, "I have not said that entire judiciary is corrupt. I'd called you corrupt and dishonest. But the media had falsely reported that I called the judiciary corrupt," said Patil.

Nirbahayananda Saraswati of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Asharam, Gadag, speaking on the occasion, said, "Democracy thrives on commitment and truth. In West, the elected representatives try to maintain a probity in governance and public life. We need to follow the Western suit."

"Those in public life should try to maintain a clean image. The entire country used to respond to the calls given by Gandhiji and Lal Bahadur Shastri for the people had faith in these towering leaders who maintained probity in public life," the seer felt.

DH News Service