Jus Spake of the week

The credibility of every Indian institution has taken a severe beating. No surprise, therefore, that there are questions being thrown at the credibility and functioning of even the Indian Judiciary.  Chief Justice Dinakaran of the Sikkim High court has put in his papers and the reason he gives is his loss of faith in the system.

Hans India spoke to a few leading lights from the legal fraternity for a in house audit.  Not surprisingly the opinion is one of being satisfied with the working of the system.  The legal system as is, is well advocated.

Former Advocate General CV Mohan Reddy examined the two views on the question as to whether courts are overdoing their “conscience call” bit. He believes courts are doing a commendable job with PIL cases.  The common man perceives the higher judiciary as the only corrective platform.  In some cases they may have over stepped.  By and large when the Executive sleeps and fails to discharge its functions as Trustees of peoples’ hopes and interests the judiciary is forced to step in.

He also believes that the political Executive has a quinquennial accounting process and they are best left to deal with policy and are better trusted than members of the judiciary.  However when they go into a hibernation, the judiciary is forced to step in and act.  He believes that many of the present day problems is attributable to  the absence of a strong political Executive. Asked if there was an antidote to judicial Absolutism he said : the system always provides for appeals and review, despite which there could be the odd error. Dealing with courts coming down heavily on strikes he sees such protests as catalysts in a democracy and an insurance against violence and the pronouncements need to be examined in the context of the pronouncements and not as a general negation of people’s right to protest. We have released the Genie, he has with reference to PIL , we cannot put it back, it remains to be seen how we now regulate it.

Former Additional Advocate General D. Prakash Reddy is critical of those who loose faith in the system only when they quit or are quitting. Why do they not do this introspection to help the common man during their active career?  He agrees that there has been an overall deterioration. “It is with all sections of society and not just the judicial system.  Standards have fallen every where. So is it here. Merely because you wear a black coat and gown, your nature does not change” he argues.  He too is concerned about the systems take on agitations and warns that such stern response may serve the immediate but could be counter productive in the long run.  Strikes are a great insurance for the emotional feelings of the citizens. It is often perceived as majority versus the strikers which may lead to disastrous results, he warns. He is also a little sceptical about the lack of predictability of the approach in PIL cases.  Some times they do not react. Some times they over react. The only check is healthy criticism specially in and by the media.

S.Ramachandra Rao the prima Donna of PIL in the state refuses to take the bait that there is a over kill. Since the Executive has failed totally the judiciary is required to and has in some cases stepped in, he believes. Asked if he too has lost faith in the system a la Justice Dinakaran, the septuagenarian promptly says: “I’m never part of it. Never out of it.  Far from loosing faith, I believe it is the only hope”. He canvases for a method for impeachment. A committee of the Chief Justice, the Speaker and the chairperson of the Bar Council must submit a preliminary enquiry and this must lead to an enquiry by a properly constituted judicial body.  He also strongly pleads against service rehabilitation for retired judges, which he believes could be an unhealthy carrot held out to them while in service. On strikes, he agreed with judicial intervention because the language and methods employed is becoming increasingly unmanageable and thus required judicial intervention.

          The in house accountants obviously believe that it is still not time to ring the alarm bells.  May be. May be not.  This is surely one take. The other view, another time.