Page 7 - Indian Judiciary

Important to highlight work done in back offices of Indian judiciary: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Friday said very little is known about the work done in the back offices of the Indian judiciary and stressed that it is important this be highlighted. He was delivering the inaugural address of the 19th Legal Services authority Meet at the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) here. "Judiciary has been a poor communicator just because we feel that we don't need marketing," the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said. "It is also known by the delays in judicial process, very little is known about the work done in the back offices of the Indian judiciary, and it is important we highlight the work which is done in the back offices of the Indian judiciary as well because that is the spine of our judiciary," he said. CJI Chandrachud said a judiciary is known by the decisions it delivers or sometimes by the decisions that it doesn't deliver. He also talked about the voluminous work being done at the back-end of courts. The website,

Judiciary cannot make legislation: Naidu on supremacy of legislature

Former vice president M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday upheld the supremacy of the legislature in law-making and asserted that the judiciary has no role in the process. Addressing the National Legislators Conference here, Naidu said Constitution has clearly defined roles for the executive, the legislature and the judiciary and none should "think they are supreme and overstep their limits". "The legislative powers are solely given to the legislative bodies. Whether legislation is in accordance with the Constitutional provision or not, let the courts decide. But, courts cannot make legislation. The judiciary cannot make legislation, this has to be borne in mind," the former vice president said. "The legislature decides, the executive implements and finally if anybody violates the provisions one can go to court. The judiciary must be dynamic and they must dispose of at the earliest," Naidu said. The former vice president's remarks come in the wake of a row over the Constitutional separati

One cannot malign judicial officers by using social media, says SC

One cannot malign judicial officers by using social media, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday while dismissing a plea challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that sentenced a man to 10 days in jail for making corruption allegations against a district judge. A vacation bench of Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said it was not inclined to interfere in the matter. "Just because you don't get a favourable order doesn't mean that you will malign the judicial officer. Independence of (the) judiciary doesn't just mean independence from (the) executive but also from outside forces. This has to be a lesson for others also. "He should have thought twice before casting any aspersion on the judicial officer. He maligned the judicial officer. Think of the damage done to the judicial officer's image," Justice Trivedi observed orally. The counsel appearing for the petitioner sought leniency from the Supreme Court and said the imprisonment order was excessive. The

Adopt technology like judiciary: Meghwal's message to state officials

Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday urged officials of state legislatures to adopt technology the way the executive and the judiciary have done to improve their functioning. When the executive, through the Digital India programme, and the judiciary, through the eCourts Project, have adopted technology to their benefit, the legislature should also use it to its advantage, the minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs said. Delivering the valedictory address at a two-day workshop on 'National eVidhan Application (NeVA)' here, Meghwal said there was an initial hesitation when technology was introduced in the industry, such as steam, electricity, IT solution and artificial intelligence. "But technology has become an integral part of our lives," the minister said, underling the need to adopt it. NeVA seeks to make the functioning of state legislatures paperless and integrate all 37 legislative houses on to 'One Nation, One Application'. Meghwal was recently also given the ch

Shifting Rijiju out of law ministry victory of judiciary system: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday claimed the central government has taken note of the judiciary's "resentment" to Kiren Rijiju and hence he has been moved out of the Union law ministry. This is a victory of the judicial system, the Rajya Sabha member told reporters. In a sudden development, Rijiju was moved out of the law ministry and replaced by Arjun Ram Meghwal on Thursday. Rijiju was named as law minister on July 7, 2021. As law minister, Rijiju had been the most vocal in the government in criticising the collegium system of appointing Supreme Court and high court judges and described it as being "alien" to the Constitution. His recent remarks on some retired judges being part of an anti-India gang had evoked strong reactions. He had claimed that a few retired judges and some activists who are part of the "anti-India gang" were trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of opposition party. Reacting to the development, Raut claimed there is no one in the

SC to hear Gujarat judicial officers' plea whose promotions it stayed

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear in July a plea of several Gujarat judicial officers whose promotions were stayed by it. A bench headed by Justice M R Shah, now retired, on May 12 had stayed the promotion of 68 Gujarat lower judicial officers, including Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma who had convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of the submissions of senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for the judicial officers, that they have been reverted back to their original lower cadre by the Gujarat High Court in pursuance of the apex court's decision of May 12. Several judicial officers are suffering humiliation due to the demotion and moreover, six states in the country follow the principle of seniority-cum-merit for promotion, said the senior lawyer. We will list it after the summer vacation in July, the CJI said, adding

SC to hear plea for action against VP, Rijiju over remarks on judiciary

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea of Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) against Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar over their remarks on judiciary and the collegium system for appointment of judges. The lawyers' body has moved the top court challenging the Bombay High Court's February 9 order dismissing its plea on the ground that it was not a fit case to invoke the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution. As per the apex court web-site, the appeal of the BLA is listed for hearing before a bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Ahsanuddin Amanullah. The Bombay Lawyers Association (BLA) had claimed that Rijiju and Dhankhar showed lack of faith in the Constitution with their remarks and conduct. It had sought orders to restrain Dhankhar from discharging duty as the vice president, and Rijiju as the cabinet minister for the central government. In an appeal, the lawyers body said the "frontal attack not jus

'Illegal' promotion of 68 Gujarat lower judicial officers stayed by SC

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the promotion of 68 Gujarat lower judicial officers, including Surat Chief Judicial Magistrate Harish Hasmukhbhai Varma who had convicted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case. A bench comprising Justices M R Shah and C T Ravikumar said as per the Gujarat State Judicial Service Rules 2005, which was amended in 2011, the promotions must be made on principle of merit-cum-seniority and on passing a suitability test. "We are more than satisfied that the impugned list issued by the high court and the subsequent order issued by the state government granting promotion to district judges are illegal and contrary to the decision of this court.The same are, therefore, not sustainable," the bench said. "We stay the implementation of the promotion list. Respective promotees are sent to their original post which they were holding prior to their promotion," it said. The top court passed an interim order staying the promotions and directed that the .

Excise scam: AAP leader Manish Sisodia's judicial custody extended

A Delhi court on Saturday extended till May 28 the judicial custody of AAP leader Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to alleged excise scam. Sisodia, who was produced before the court on the expiry of his judicial custody, said before the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not be able to stop Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's work in Delhi. "Modi ji may try as much as he wants, but he won't be able to stop the work of Kejriwal ji in Delhi. Modi ji may conspire as much as he wants," Sisodia said while he was being brought out of the courtroom after the judge pronounced the order. The court has on Friday dismissed the bail plea of Sisodia, saying "the case of economic offences has serious repercussions upon the general public and society at large as the evidence collected during investigation speaks volumes of his involvement in the commission of the said offence". The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister ..

NCLAT member recuses himself from hearing Google's Play Store case

A Judicial member of the appellate tribunal NCLAT has recused himself from hearing a petition filed by tech giant Google, appealing against Rs 936.44 crore penalty imposed by competition watchdog CCI for abusing its dominant position with respect to Play Store policies. On Monday, NCLAT bench Justice Rakesh Kumar and Alok Srivastava ordered Google's appeal to be listed before another bench of which Justice Rakesh Kumar is not a party. It has asked the registry of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to place it before the Chairman of the appellate tribunal for this. "List this appeal before a Bench of which one of the Members [Mr Justice Rakesh Kumar, Member (Judicial)] may not be a party. The Registry is directed to place this appeal before the Chairperson, for his approval," the NCLAT bench said. Earlier, the NCLAT bench comprising Justice Kumar and Srivastava had on January 11 declined to grant interim relief to Google, seeking a stay on the Rs 936.44-crore penalt

UP govt forms judicial commission to probe killing of Atiq Ahmad, brother

The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday constituted a three-member judicial commission to probe into the killing of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf. The commission will be headed by high court judge (retired) Arvind Kumar Tripathi, and retired judge Brijesh Kumar Soni and former DGP Subesh Kumar Singh will be its members, officials said here. The commission will have to submit its report to the government within two months, they said, adding the state home department has constituted the commission under Commission of Inquiry Act, 1952. Both Ahmad and Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj on Saturday night.

Tech, alternative dispute resolution, vital for justice delivery: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday emphasised that technology needs to be brought into play to speed up the justice delivery system, especially in remote areas such as in the northeast. He also maintained that the alternative dispute resolution system was an important pillar of judicial delivery. Speaking at the concluding ceremony of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Gauhati High Court here, Modi said "technology can help bring justice to remote areas such as in the northeast." Pointing to the need to bring in technology in justice delivery, he said, Artificial Intelligence could be used to further bring 'Ease of Justice'. Indicating how lack of clarity in property ownership has proven to be a burden on the judiciary, he gave an example of how drones have been used to bring a solution by mapping properties in over 1 lakh villages under the PM Swamitva Yojana. He also said, "Alternative dispute resolution systems are vital", and added that the North East has rich tradition

Diversity on the bench: Police, judiciary lack caste, gender multiplicity

The report tracks states' progress on justice delivery mechanisms - the judiciary, police, prisons, and legal aid.

Justice delayed

India Justice Report points to low priority in state spending

Chilling effect: Supreme Court lifts ban on MediaOne news channel

Says views critical of govt can't be termed anti-establishment; criticises sealed cover proceedings

Karnataka at top in delivery of justice among 18 large states: IJR

The report said that in the list of seven small states, with a population less than one crore each, Sikkim is at the top followed by Arunachal Pradesh, and Tripura is at rank three

Rahul Gandhi to appeal against his conviction today; all you need to know

Gandhi will be accompanied by several other Congress leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot

Reformative to retributive justice

Two contradictory court judgments this week raise an uncomfortable question: Has the judiciary, from the trial court to the Supreme Court, moved from a reformative institution to a retributive one?

Judiciary vs govt: The more things change, the more they remain the same

The problem, as many experts have pointed out, lies with the power of judicial review. The judiciary has invested it to mean absolute judicial supremacy, while the govt begs to differ

Differences between govt and judiciary doesn't mean confrontation: Rijiju

Denying any clash between the government and judiciary as speculated in the media, Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday contended that differences were inevitable in a democracy but they should not be construed as confrontation. The Minister inaugurated the Chief Judicial Magistrate court, Mayiladuthurai, in the presence of Chief Justice of India Justice D Y Chandrachud, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice T Raja here. "We have differences, but it doesn't mean there is confrontation. It sends a wrong message across the world. I want to make it clear that there is no problem between different organs of the State. There are signs of robust democratic actions, which are not a crisis," he emphasised. Pointing to some media reports of alleged differences between the government and the Supreme Court or the legislature and judiciary, the Union Minister said, "we must understand that we are in a democracy. There are .