‘JUDGES DON’T FACE ELECTIONS,’ RIJIJU’S LATEST VS JUDICIARY

Continuing with the tirade against appointment process of judges, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said, “Judges do not face elections or scrutiny by public.” Indicating that the debatable Collegium system is not cast in stone, Rijiju said, “Changes are also made in an established system in view of challenges and situations.” This once again made the government stand clear: A change in Collegium system bringing higher say of the government in the recruitment of judges. The government and the judiciary are not on the same page on the issue. The Law Minister’s comment on Monday came in the backdrop of a series of utterances by various constitutional authorities including the Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. It has also come a day after the law minister backed the views of a former Delhi High Court judge  Justice R.S. Sodhi that Supreme Court has “hijacked” the Constitution by deciding to appoint judges itself. Rijiju was addressing an event organised by Delhi Bar Association at Tis Hazari courts here, where he also pitched for a “robust and independent judiciary”, saying if the independence of the judiciary is diluted, democracy will not be successful. “For a strong democracy in India, a robust and independent judiciary is a must. If the independence of the judiciary is diluted or its authority, dignity and honour are weakened, then democracy will not be successful,” Rijiju said on Monday. He said the Indian constitution has seen several amendments in response to the emerging situation. “Sometimes some challenges appear. We are a developing nation. It is wrong to think that there could not be changes in the running system. Changes are also made in an established system in view of challenges and situations. This is the reason Indian Constitution has been amended over a hundred times,” the minister said. He said people are watching the judges and people make assessments of judgment and the way they deliver justice.  “After becoming judges, they don’t have to face elections or scrutiny by the public…Public is watching the judges, their judgments and the way they deliver justice, and make their assessments…In this era of social media, nothing can be hidden,” he said. Rijiju, who had shared a clip of an interview of  former Delhi High Court judge  Justice RS Sodhi, had said on Sunday that the majority of people have “similar sane views”. “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,” Rijiju had said. Rijiju had earlier this month written to the Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud over the collegium system for appointments to the higher judiciary. The minister later said in a tweet that the move was a follow-up action of the direction of Supreme Court Constitution Bench while striking down the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act. He said the SC Constitution Bench had directed to restructure the Memorandum of Procedure of the collegium system.