Kiren Rijiju: On Sunday, the conflict between the government and the judiciary over the selection of judges and which provisions of the constitution can be amended by parliament took a sharp turn. Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju used remarks made by a former judge to highlight which perspective he considered “sane.”
Kiren Rijiju tweets amidst allegations
In an interview, retired Delhi High Court judge RS Sodhi remarked, “The Supreme Court has hijacked the constitution for the first time. They said we will appoint [judges] ourselves. The government will have no role in this.”
“High courts are not subservient to the Supreme Court [but] high court judges start looking at the Supreme Court and become subservient,” He stated this while elaborating on why he believed the collegium system, in which a group of Supreme Court justices selects judges for the high courts and Supreme Courts, was ineffective.
Taking to Twitter, Kiren Rijiju posted the interview clip and wrote, “Voice of a judge… Real beauty of Indian Democracy is its success. People rule themselves through their representatives. Elected representatives represent the interests of the people and laws. Our judiciary is independent, and our constitution is supreme.”
He also added, “Actually, majority of the people have similar sane views. It’s only those people who disregard the provisions of the Constitution and mandate of the people think that they are above the Constitution of India.”
What is the fuss all about?
This current statement is part of a long-running dispute between the administration and the judiciary that has gotten worse recently. The judiciary has come under growing pressure to alter the system in which judges have the last say about judicial appointments as a result of remarks made by Mr. Rijiju to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The government has argued for a greater say in appointing judges, questioned the lack of its veto authority, and criticised the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision to encircle some constitutional concepts and declare them to be the document’s “basic structure,” impervious to parliamentary amendment.
The government has resisted several nominations, including that of a lawyer who might become the first openly homosexual judge in India, until the Supreme Court this week took the rare step of making public its contact with the centre on judge elevation.
Keep watching our YouTube Channel ‘DNP INDIA’. Also, please subscribe and follow us on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and TWITTER