Rare Public Spat Shows Rift Between Government, Supreme Court
NDTV
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has taken several swipes at the so-called collegium system over the past few months.
A rare public attack on the Supreme Court by government ministers is reviving a debate about whether elected representatives should have a say in choosing the country's arbiters of justice.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has taken several swipes at the so-called collegium system over the past few months, alleging that its opacity allows judges to appoint or promote people they know rather than the fittest person for the job. The matter escalated when Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar last week slammed the Supreme Court for scrapping in 2015 a law passed by parliament that had specified a method to appoint new judges.
The Supreme Court on Thursday said the remarks are "not taken well" and asked the Attorney General for India to "advise" members of the executive to exercise restraint.
Some commentators say Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration is seeking a bigger role in the appointment of judges, with several cases due to be heard in coming months including petitions against an opaque method of political funding and permitting same-sex marriage. While the executive arm plays a vital role in the selection of judges in the US, India has favoured an independent judiciary as a key feature of its constitutional democracy.
