Stop campaign against the judiciary

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has again gone on the offensive against the Supreme Court over the issue of the court’s collegium for appointment of judges of the higher courts, linking the pendency of cases, at nearly 50 million, to vacant posts of judges in courts. He has said that the pendency problem will not be solved before a “new system” of appointments is evolved. He has also mentioned “the long vacation which the courts obtain”, which he said is a colonial legacy, as a contributory factor. He has been criticising the collegium system for some time now. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, in his maiden speech as Rajya Sabha Chairman, had also criticised the collegium system, and the minister has now brought in new issues, widening the scope of his attack. The minister has also criticised the court for hearing "bail applications and frivolous PILs" at a time when the pendency of cases is high.

Also Read | Fearless sense of independence of courts saved democracy during Emergency: CJI Chandrachud

It is unfortunate that Rijiju is continuing his tirade against the Supreme Court even after the court expressed its displeasure over his previous comments. It is not the view of the court alone. The general view is that it is wrong and inappropriate on the minister’s part to persist with the campaign. He is not speaking for himself but is speaking for the government on the matter and so the government cannot disown its responsibility for his views. He has now used parliament’s forum to repeat the comments and add more issues to blame the Supreme Court for. None of the issues that he has cited stand up to close scrutiny. He has either presented a wrong case or exaggerated some of the issues that he has sought to highlight. The court has made its position clear on some of the issues. In an apparent reference to Rijiju’s comment, the Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud has said that no case is too small for the Supreme Court. The CJI also asked: “If we do not act in matters of personal liberty and grant relief, then what are we doing here?”

Vacancies in courts are only one reason for the backlog of cases. There are many reasons. There are millions of cases in the lower courts where the appointment of judges is not made by the collegium. The government has itself clogged the courts because it is the biggest litigant and takes even minor issues to court. The judges’ vacations are also no reason for the backlog. The judges, who have to use their mental faculties to the fullest, unlike most politicians, and work to preserve constitutional principles and uphold the rule of law, deserve such breaks. Rijiju must stop this campaign against the judiciary, which can only hurt relations between the judiciary and the executive.