excerpt from CJI NV Ramanspeech on Constitution Day function organized by Supreme court Registry on Friday
K framers Constitution Accountability in relation to the legislature and the executive was made an integral part. However, he deliberately decided to keep it judiciary on a different seat. He had faith in the ability of the men and women who adorned the bench to uphold the Constitution. Looking back, I can proudly claim that the judiciary as an institution has lived up to the trust reposed in it by the Constituent Assembly.
The general belief is that securing justice is the responsibility of the judiciary alone. this is not right. On the contrary, it is the three organs of the state that are responsible for upholding this commitment to secure justice… While the judiciary is the “custodian of the Constitution”, its role and scope of action are ultimately limited by the nature of the Constitution. Judicial Process… Any deviation from the path prescribed by the Constitution by the legislature or the executive will only put additional burden on the judiciary.
The Lakshman Rekha drawn by the Constitution is sacred. But, there are times when in the interest of justice the courts are compelled to look into the unresolved complaints. The intention behind such limited judicial interventions is to crush the executive and not to grab its role… Attempts to target such interventions and constructive comments by one institution to another are completely wrong. . If encouraged, such efforts will prove to be injurious to the health of democracy.
…the same judiciary which offers solutions on the basis of a mere post card, paradoxically, struggles for years to take regular litigations to their logical conclusion for various complex reasons. The question is how to resolve the issue of long litigations and pending cases… the cases pending in the lower judiciary are particularly worrisome…
Solutions we can think of are: • Filling up the existing vacancies of judicial officers • Creation of more and more posts • Filling up the vacancies of public prosecutors, public prosecutors and standing counsel • Creation of necessary infrastructure • Police and Sensitizing the executive about the need for cooperation in court proceedings • Deployment of modern technical equipment
…recently, we have seen many appointments in the higher judiciary which are being cleared by the government. It is a matter of great pleasure that the number of vacancies in the Apex Court has come down to just one. Now for the first time, there are four women judges in the Supreme Court. I expect this number to increase further. My brothers in collegiate worked overtime to facilitate filling of vacancies in high courts as well. This is an ongoing exercise, and I am sure the vacancies will be reduced to a minimum soon. I look forward to the continued cooperation of the government.
A matter of grave concern to the judiciary is the increasing attacks on judges. Physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise. Then there are attacks on the judiciary in the media, especially social media. These attacks appear to be sponsored and synchronized. Law enforcing agencies, especially central agencies, need to deal effectively with such malicious attacks. Governments are expected to create a safe environment so that judges and judicial officers can act fearlessly.
K framers Constitution Accountability in relation to the legislature and the executive was made an integral part. However, he deliberately decided to keep it judiciary on a different seat. He had faith in the ability of the men and women who adorned the bench to uphold the Constitution. Looking back, I can proudly claim that the judiciary as an institution has lived up to the trust reposed in it by the Constituent Assembly.
The general belief is that securing justice is the responsibility of the judiciary alone. this is not right. On the contrary, it is the three organs of the state that are responsible for upholding this commitment to secure justice… While the judiciary is the “custodian of the Constitution”, its role and scope of action are ultimately limited by the nature of the Constitution. Judicial Process… Any deviation from the path prescribed by the Constitution by the legislature or the executive will only put additional burden on the judiciary.
The Lakshman Rekha drawn by the Constitution is sacred. But, there are times when in the interest of justice the courts are compelled to look into the unresolved complaints. The intention behind such limited judicial interventions is to crush the executive and not to grab its role… Attempts to target such interventions and constructive comments by one institution to another are completely wrong. . If encouraged, such efforts will prove to be injurious to the health of democracy.
…the same judiciary which offers solutions on the basis of a mere post card, paradoxically, struggles for years to take regular litigations to their logical conclusion for various complex reasons. The question is how to resolve the issue of long litigations and pending cases… the cases pending in the lower judiciary are particularly worrisome…
Solutions we can think of are: • Filling up the existing vacancies of judicial officers • Creation of more and more posts • Filling up the vacancies of public prosecutors, public prosecutors and standing counsel • Creation of necessary infrastructure • Police and Sensitizing the executive about the need for cooperation in court proceedings • Deployment of modern technical equipment
…recently, we have seen many appointments in the higher judiciary which are being cleared by the government. It is a matter of great pleasure that the number of vacancies in the Apex Court has come down to just one. Now for the first time, there are four women judges in the Supreme Court. I expect this number to increase further. My brothers in collegiate worked overtime to facilitate filling of vacancies in high courts as well. This is an ongoing exercise, and I am sure the vacancies will be reduced to a minimum soon. I look forward to the continued cooperation of the government.
A matter of grave concern to the judiciary is the increasing attacks on judges. Physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise. Then there are attacks on the judiciary in the media, especially social media. These attacks appear to be sponsored and synchronized. Law enforcing agencies, especially central agencies, need to deal effectively with such malicious attacks. Governments are expected to create a safe environment so that judges and judicial officers can act fearlessly.
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