India

“Politics Inside Judiciary”: Minister Questions Judges Appointment Process

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said the people of the country are not happy with the collegium system and according to the spirit of the Constitution, it is the government’s job to…

The Constitution says that the President of India will appoint judges, said Kiren Rijiju. (File)

Ahmedabad:

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said the people of the country are not happy with the collegium system and according to the spirit of the Constitution, it is the government’s job to appoint judges.

Speaking at ‘Sabarmati Samvad’ organised in Ahmedabad on Monday by ‘Panchjanya’, a weekly magazine published by the RSS, he said he has observed that half of the time judges are “preoccupied” with deciding the appointments, due to which their primary job of delivering justice “suffers”.

#WATCH “If there is no way to bind the judiciary, words like ‘judicial activism’ are brought to use. Several judges pass observations which never become a part of judgement… As a judge you do not know practical difficulties, financial limitations,” says Law Min Kiren Rijiju pic.twitter.com/L12gCoU1L7

— ANI (@ANI)

October 17, 2022

The minister’s remarks came after he had said at a conference in Jaipur last month that there is a need to rethink the collegium system of appointments to the higher judiciary.

“Till 1993, every judge in India was appointed by the Law ministry in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. We had very eminent judges at that time,” Mr Rijiju said in response to a question on the process of appointment of judges.

“The Constitution is clear about it. It says that the President of India will appoint judges, that means the law ministry will appoint judges in consultation with the Chief Justice of India,” he said.

“The Supreme Court in 1993 defined consultation as concurrence. In no other field has consultation been defined as concurrence but in judicial appointments,” he said, adding that the collegium system was expanded by the judiciary in 1998.

The Supreme Court collegium is headed by the Chief Justice of India and comprises four seniormost judges of the court.

While the government can raise objections or seek clarifications regarding the collegium’s recommendations, it is bound by procedure to clear the names if the five-member body reiterates them.

“I am aware that the people of the country are not happy with the collegium system of appointment of judges. If we go by the spirit of the Constitution, appointing judges is the job of the government,” said.

“Second thing, nowhere in the world except India is there a practice that judges appoint their brothers as judges. Third, as the Law minister, I have observed that half of the time and minds of judges are preoccupied with deciding who will be the next judge. Their primary work is to give justice, which suffers due to this practice,” he said.

“Further, the process of consultation for the selection of judges is so intense that, I am sorry to say such a thing, groupism develops in it. People can see politics among leaders but they do not know the politics going on inside the judiciary,” he added.

Mr Rijiju said the law ministry’s job is to see that the person whose name has been recommended for appointment by the collegium is fit to be a Supreme Court or high court judge.

“A judge will be above criticism if he is not involved in the selection of another judge. But if he is involved in the administrative work, then he or she is not above criticism,” he said.

In 2014, the NDA government had tried to change the system of appointing judges.

The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act brought in 2014 would have accorded a major role to the executive in appointing judges to the higher judiciary. However, it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.

Responding to a question on judicial activism, Mr Rijiju said, “Several judges pass observations which never become part of the judgement. During my consultations with them, I have requested them to refrain from it, especially when live streaming of court proceedings is taking place. They are being judged by the people.”

“As a judge, you might not know the practical difficulties or even financial implications of the order you pass,” he said.

“We have three pillars — the executive, legislature and judiciary. The executive and the legislature are bound and regulated by the judiciary. But if the judiciary goes astray, there is no mechanism to control it,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India

Karnataka Polls: 2,613 Candidates In Fray, Rebel Trouble For Parties

A total of 2,613 candidates are in the poll fray, as the withdrawal of candidatures for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday, election officials said.

Karnataka Polls: A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till Monday.

Bengaluru:

A total of 2,613 candidates are in the poll fray, as the withdrawal of candidatures for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka came to an end on Monday, election officials said.

A total of 517 candidates have withdrawn their candidature till Monday, even as parties faced “rebel trouble” in several segments.

Out of 2,613 candidates in the poll fray, 2,427 are male, 184 females and 2 others, office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka said.

Among the contesting candidates from recognised political parties- 224 from BJP, 223 Congress (supporting Sarvodaya Karnataka Party in Melukote), 207 JD(S), 209 AAP, 133 BSP , 4 CPI(M), 8 JD(U) and 2 NPP.

While 685 are from Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (RUPP), 918 are independents.

In 16 constituencies there are more than 15 candidates in the fray, so two Ballot Unit (BU) will be used in these segments during the poll.

Political parties made efforts till the last minute to ensure rebel candidates, who had filed nomination disgruntled over being denied tickets by their respective parties, to withdraw their papers.

In some cases, the parties were successful in convincing such candidates to withdraw, while “rebel trouble” loomed large on the electoral prospects of the official candidates in several constituencies.

The rebel trouble seems to be more in the case of BJP and Congress, compared to other parties.

According to party sources, Congress is facing rebel in Pulakeshinagar (Akhanda Srinivas Murthy), Harapanahalli (M P Latha Mallikarjun), Shirahatti (Ramakrishna Doddamani), Shikaripura (Nagaraj Gowda), Jagalur (H P Rajesh), Arakalagudu (Krishnegowda), among others.

In BJP rebel trouble is in – Puttur (Arun kumar Puttila), Afzalpur (Nitin Guttedar), Goolihatti Shekhar (Hosadurga), Bailhongal (Vishwanath Patil), Gundlupet (M P Sunil), Chennagiri (Madal Mallikarjun), Malur (Vijay Kumar), Gandhi Nagar (Krishnaiah Shetty), among others, party sources said.

Among those who have withdrawn as rebel candidates include – former Bengaluru Mayor- Congress’ Gangambike Mallikarjun from Chickpet, BJP’s Mahadevappa Yadawad from Ramdurg.

The elections to the 224-member assembly will be held on May 10 and results will be declared on May 13.

India

Shivraj’s Chouhan Makes A Big Announcement Before Polls

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in Madhya Pradesh, in what appears a last-minute strategy tweak, is trying to court Brahmins months ahead of the assembly elections with the constitution of a Welfare Board for the community.

Madhya Pradesh has 21,104 temples including two Jyotirlingas.

Bhopal:

Besides, the government has also announced that it would develop the Bhagwan Sri Parashurama Lok religious corridor in Indore’s Janapav. Temples, meanwhile, have been given more power over their own land.

“We have decided that the government will not have any control over the activities of the temples and the auction of temple land will be done by priests and not by collectors,” Mr Chouhan said. “Brahmins have always protected religion and culture. So for their welfare, we will set up a ‘Brahmin Welfare Board’,” he added.

Madhya Pradesh has 21,104 temples including two Jyotirlingas. Of these, 1,320 temples have more than 10 acres of agricultural land. For temples without agricultural land, priests are paid an honorarium of Rs 5,000 a month.

The government’s move has triggered questions, especially since Brahmins comprise only 5 to 6 per cent of the state’s electorate.

A clue appears to lie in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. The Prime Minister visited Rewa, located in Vindhyas — probably the only region in the country where the upper castes constitute the largest portion of the population. In some assembly seats of Satna and Rewa districts, the population of Brahmins crosses 40 per cent.

In 2018, the Vindhya region prevented Congress from returning to power with full majority. The area now seems to be emerging as one of the most intriguing battlegrounds of the poll-bound state.

In 2018, BJP won 24 out of 30 seats in Vindhyas – up from 17 in 2013. The number of Congress seats slid from 11 to six.

But two recent events – the emergence of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party in the area and a new party floated by MLA Narayan Tripathi — have given the BJP some cause for concern, sources indicated.

In Rewa and Singrauli, the BJP lost the urban local body polls last year as AAP made its Madhya Pradesh debut with a victory in Singrauli. Mr Tripathi, who earlier belonged to the BJP, has meanwhile been flexing muscle, claiming that his party will contest 30 assembly seats in the region.

The Congress has scoffed at the BJP move, saying the Chief Minister is thinking of giving respect to Brahmins after 18 years. “Till date, he kept neglecting them in the cabinet, now he is making announcements to woo the Brahmins,” said Congress spokesperson KK Mishra.

Claiming that Mr Chouhan has made announcements in Janapav, the birthplace of Parshuram, he said, “What happened to those announcements?”

“It should not be seen from the point of view of elections or votes,” said BJP leader Rahul Kothari.

“Let the Congress makes allegations but they should first answer for the condition of the temples during their tenure. They should answer for the Ramvan Path Gaman,” he added.

India

Senior Citizen Dead After Man Jumps On Him In Mumbai Swimming Pool

A 72-year-old man died after another person jumped on him from a height in a swimming pool in Mumbai, a police official said.

The incident took place at Mumbai’s Goregaon area.

Mumbai:

A 72-year-old man died after another person jumped on him from a height in a swimming pool in Mumbai, a police official said.

The incident took place on Sunday evening at Ozon swimming pool in Goregaon area.

The dead, identified as Vishnu Samant, was swimming when a 20-year-old man jumped into the pool from a height, the official said.

“Samant suffered injuries on his neck and other parts of the body. He was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. On his wife’s complaint, a case has been registered against the 20-year-old man under Indian Penal Code Section 304-A (causing death by negligence),” he said.

India

UP Chief Minister receives death threat, case registered: Cops

A case has been registered against an unidentified person in Lucknow after a death threat was received for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police said on Tuesday.

The threat was received via message on ‘Dial 112’.

Lucknow:

A case has been registered against an unidentified person in Lucknow after a death threat was received for Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the police said on Tuesday.

The threat was received via message on ‘Dial 112’ (a number launched by the Uttar Pradesh government for the emergency services), in which the person stated, “I will kill CM Yogi soon”.

After receiving the threat, the Operation Commander of ‘112’ filed a case in the police station Sushant Golf City.

A case has been registered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 506, 507 and IT Act 66.

“Case has been registered under sections 506 and 507 IPC and 66 IT Act in PS Sushant Golf City against an unknown person after ‘Dial 112’ receives death threat for Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath,” the police said.

In an unrelated incident on Sunday, the police arrested the person who wrote a letter threatening to launch a suicide bomb attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Kochi scheduled for April 24.

The accused has been identified as Xavier, said the police.

On Saturday, Kerala BJP chief K Surendran said that he received a letter last week about a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While talking to ANI, Kochi City Police Commissioner, K Sethu Raman said, “The person who sent the threat letter against the Prime Minister was arrested. Xavier, the accused was arrested yesterday. The reason is personal enmity. He wrote the letter to trap his neighbour. We found him with the help of forensics.”

“Tight security has been arranged for the Prime Minister arriving in Kochi. 2060 policemen have been appointed for this purpose. As part of this, traffic control has also been imposed from 2 pm,” the Commissioner added.

India

West Khasi Hills in Meghalaya is hit by a 3.5 magnitude earthquake

An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 Richter scale struck Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills on Monday, according to National Center for Seismology (NCS).

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 3:33 pm (local time).

New Delhi:

An earthquake of magnitude 3.5 Richter scale struck Meghalaya’s West Khasi Hills on Monday, according to National Center for Seismology (NCS).

The earthquake occurred at around 7:47 am, informed NCS.

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.5, Occurred on 24-04-2023, 07:47:14 IST, Lat: 25.47 & Long: 90.94, Depth: 5 Km, Location: West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya,” NCS said in a tweet.

Earlier on Sunday, an earthquake struck Meghalaya’s South Garo Hills. The magnitude of it was recorded at 3.5 on the Richter scale according to NCS.

According to the NCS, the earthquake occurred at 3:33 pm (local time).

In a tweet, NCS said, “Earthquake of Magnitude:3.5, Occurred on 23-04-2023, 15:33:33 IST, Lat: 25.26 & Long: 90.94, Depth: 5 Km, Location: South Garo Hills, Meghalaya.”

On April 16, an earthquake of magnitude 3.6 on the Richter scale hit Manipur’s Bishnupur district. As per the readings from the centre, the earthquake occurred northwest of Bishnupur at 7:22 am (local time).

“Earthquake of Magnitude:3.6, Occurred on 16-04-2023, 07:22:49 IST, Lat: 24.84 & Long: 93.69, Depth: 10 Km, Location: 24km NNW of Bishnupur, Manipur, India for more information Download the BhooKamp App,” the NCS had said in a tweet.