A day after He shared the video clip A retired Supreme Court judge who said the Supreme Court “hijacked” the constitution amid the current row over judge appointments, Union Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Monday there was no “mahabharat” between the government and the judiciary – and in a democracy there will be “debate and discussion”.
At an event at the Tiz Hazari courts in Delhi, the justice minister also said he was in “live contact” with Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud. “From small to complex issues, we discuss everything,” he said.
During his speech, Rijiju referred to a letter from former CJI NV Ramana about criticism of judges on social media, saying judges are cautious about making judgments that could provoke a strong public reaction.
But he said unlike politicians, a judge “doesn’t have to face an election again.”
The standoff over the appointment of judges in the higher judiciary escalated on Sunday, Rijiju said on Twitter Interview clip of former High Court judge in Delhi RS Sodhi said that the “Supreme Court has abused the constitution for the first time…he said that we appoint the judges and that the government will have no role in that.” The justice minister tweeted that a “majority of people hold similarly reasonable views.”
The tweets came days after the CJI-led college of the Supreme Court released its reasons for the rerun and the government’s objections to the appointment of at least three attorneys as Supreme Court justices.
At Monday’s Tiz Hazari event, Rijiju referred to ex-CJI Ramana’s letter, saying: “Even judges are a little wary these days. You will not make any judgments that might provoke a strong reaction in society. After all, a judge is also a human being and it (public opinion) affects him too. There is a direct impact from (social media scrutiny) on the judges.”
The former CJI, he said, has sought legislation to deal with criticism of judges on social media. Rijiju said nothing can be done when a “large number of people” have access to social media.
Rijiju then compared the appointment of judges to elections faced by politicians, saying: “A judge becomes a judge once, so he doesn’t have to face an election again. The public cannot scrutinize judges… That’s why I said the public doesn’t elect judges, so they can’t change them. But people are watching you. Your verdicts, the way judges work, the way you deliver justice, people watch.”
Rijiju also said there was no tension between the executive branch and the judiciary. “How is it a democracy if there is no debate and discussion? When there are disagreements between the government and the judiciary, some people portray it as if a Mahabharat is taking place, but it is not,” he said.
Referring to a separate letter he sent to CJI Chandrachud in which he “proposed” the inclusion of a government candidate in the process of selecting judges for appointment, Rijiju said it was his “duty” to do so. “I wrote a letter advancing the issues in the 2015 five-judge bench,” he said. In 2015, a five-judge constitutional court rejected the constitutional amendment that created the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) as “unconstitutional.”
The justice minister also said that a strong, independent judiciary is a must for strengthening a democracy. “The Modi government has not taken a single step to undermine the judiciary. Our work is a testament to respect for the institution… Democracy cannot succeed if you weaken the authority or dignity of the judiciary,” Rijiju said.