Page 8 - Indian Judiciary

Differences between govt and judiciary possible, no clash: Kiren 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 .

Rahul Gandhi insulted OBCs, defamed Parliament, judiciary: Bhupender Yadav

Union Minister Bhupender Yadav on Friday alleged that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had defamed India on foreign soil and insulted the country's judicial system and the OBC community

Foreign lawyers, law firms cannot appear in courts, judicial forum: BCI

The Bar Council of India (BCI) assured Indian lawyers on Sunday that foreign advocates and law firms will not be allowed to appear in any court or judicial forum and that they can only advise their clients about foreign laws and international laws. The BCI assurance came after its recent decision to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in certain areas evoked mixed reactions and created "some misgivings". Recently, the apex bar body took a significant decision to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in areas such as foreign law, international legal issues and arbitration matters, saying that the legal fraternity here may be left behind if it sleeps over the matter. The BCI decision to notify the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022 evoked mixed reactions from bar leaders. "There are some misgivings in circulation about the recently published Gazette notification by BCI regarding en

Constitution has to evolve through Parliament, not judiciary: V P Dhankhar

The evolution of the Constitution has to take place in Parliament and no other "super body" or institution, including the judiciary and the executive, has any role in it, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday. It is the primacy of the Constitution that determines the stability, harmony and productivity of democratic governance and Parliament reflecting mandate of the people is the ultimate and exclusive architect of the Constitution, he said. Dhankhar's remarks, made at the release a memoir of former Tamil Nadu governor P S Ramamohan Rao, came a day after Law Minister Kiren Rejiju invoked the "Lakhsman Rekha" on the relationship between the executive and the judiciary. The vice president said, "A constitution has to evolve from the people through Parliament, not from the executive. The executive has no role in evolving the Constitution and no other institution including judiciary." He further stressed, "The Constitution evolution has to take place in Parliament and there c

Rijiju's anti-India gang remarks are attempt to pressure judiciary: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday alleged that Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's remarks that a few retired judges are part of an "anti-India gang" are an attempt to pressure the judiciary and threaten judges. Speaking at the India Today Conclave in the national capital on Saturday, Rijiju had claimed that a few retired judges and some activists who are "part of the anti-India gang" are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of the opposition party. Reacting to the remarks while talking to reporters here, Raut said, "What kind of democracy is this? Does it suit a law minister to threaten the judiciary? It is a threat to judges who refuse to bow down to the government and it's an attempt to pressure the judiciary." Criticising the government doesn't mean being against the nation, Raut said. The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP also said that after Rahul Gandhi spoke about the threats to democracy in the country, there is now a move to get the Congress

Efforts on to ensure easy and affordable judicial system: Kiren Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju in a written reply in Rajya Sabha said efforts were being made by the govt to ensure an easy, accessible and affordable judicial system for people

Order assigning cases to benches can only be passed by CJI, says SC

A Supreme Court bench, which was assigned a case by another bench of equal strength has said orders pertaining to placing a case before benches can only be passed by the chief justice of India. A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath, which was assigned a case related to consumer protection by a bench of Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar, said, "If the particular bench in a particular situation finds that a matter be placed before another bench, the bench is required to direct the matter to be placed before the chief justice of India for obtaining appropriate orders." The bench led by Justice Gavai, in its order passed on Monday, gave the timeline of the case and said it is a normal practice of this court that a matter follows a judge who was part of a bench that had passed an effective order. "In the present proceedings, the only effective order that has been passed is on September 27, 2021, of issuance of notice," it said, adding that the said order was passed by a bench ...

Delhi HC sets 8 week deadline to build public toilets for transgenders

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday set a deadline of eight weeks for construction of public toilets for transgender people in the national capital and warned it will order personal appearance of the top officials concerned of the Delhi government and the NDMC in case of non-compliance. A bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma noted that as per the status report filed by the city government, while the process of construction was stated to be underway, no public toilets have been built for the transgender population. Status report has been filed informing this court that the State has taken appropriate action keeping in view the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act in the matter of construction of public toilets for transgender persons. However, the status report reveals that toilets have not been constructed at all, observed the bench, also comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad. The court granted time to the government to ensure toilets are constructed as ...

Ultimate target is to make judiciary completely paperless: Kiren Rijiju

Every person today is beneficiary of every step taken by the central government, he said

Judiciary must be allowed to interpret Constitution, says SC judge Kohli

The judiciary must be allowed to interpret the Constitution and its independence is not just a legal principle but fundamental pillar of a vibrant democracy, Justice Hima Kohli of the Supreme Court has said. "It is imperative that all three pillars (legislature, executive and judiciary) of the State work in parallel and not in tandem, at arm's length and not hand in hand, to give strength to the democratic system. "This itself will preserve the independence of the judiciary and protect its autonomy and impartiality. It is equally essential to recognise the judiciary's role in the constitutional dialogue as it acts like a safety valve for fostering our democratic values," Justice Kohli said. She was speaking on the subject of "Independent Judiciary: Critical for a Vibrant Democracy" at a function organised by FICCI in collaboration with Bharat Chamber of Commerce and the Indian Council of Arbitration in Kolkata on Saturday. "Independence of the judiciary is not just a legal principl

Indian Judiciary can never be forced to play roles of Oppn party: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju launched a scathing attack on the gang getting support from the anti-India foreign entities in a bid to launch frontal attack against India

Judiciary dealt with attempts at interference appropriately: Ex-CJI Lalit

Former chief justice of India U U Lalit said the judiciary has faced instances of challenge and attempts at interference but dealt with these appropriately to ensure its independence. He said in order to have a thriving democracy, one must have an independent judiciary because it is through dispute resolution that society is assured of governance by the rule of law. "There are various challenges that the judiciary has to face today," he said, asserting, "therefore, we have to be strong as a judicial fraternity We must bear every kind of pressure, onslaught or any kind of interference." Speaking at a symposium on 'Independent judiciary: Critical for a vibrant democracy' held by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce here on Saturday evening, he said there have been instances of court decisions subjected to executive interference, but these have been appropriately dealt with ensuring the independence of the judiciary. The former CJI said attributes of independence of the judiciary are ...

Despite SC push, several HCs yet to fall in line on tech implementation

The HCs in Andhra Pradesh, Gauhati (Arunachal Pradesh), Gauhati (Nagaland), and Tripura have yet to put in place the video conferencing rules

In a first, Kerala High court begins publishing judgements in vernacular

The judgements were passed by a division of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly in January 2023, and the same were made available in Malayalam on the High Court's website recently

'It is a huge resource', SC begins live transcription of its hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, on an experimental basis, began using artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing technology for live transcription of its hearings.

Former CJI UU Lalit backs Collegium system, says 'near-perfect model'

Former CJI Lalit said that they can be infirmities as some recommendations get dropped

Proposals for transfer of 10 HC judges under process: Kiren Rijiju

Proposals for transfer of 10 high court judges are under various stages of processing, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told Lok Sabha on Friday. Rijiju's statement comes days after the Supreme Court expressed displeasure over Centre's delay in clearing recommendations for transfer of HC judges, saying it was a very serious issue. In his written reply, the minister asserted that "no timeline" has been prescribed in the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for transfer of judges from one high court to another. "As on February 06, 2023, proposals for transfer of 10 high court judges from one high court to other high courts are under various stages of processing," Rijiju said. He said judges of high courts are transferred according to the procedure laid down in the MoP prepared in 1998. As per the existing MoP, the proposal for transfer of high court judges is initiated by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, he pointed out. The MoP further

No provision for reservation in judiciary, says Kiren Rijiju in Parliament

The government informed Parliament on Thursday that the existing policy does not provide for reservation in the judiciary but judges, especially collegium members, have been told to keep in mind sections of people who are not represented adequately while making their recommendations for appointments of judges. During Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, DMK leader Tiruchi Siva asked if the government would consider the possibility of introducing a reservation policy in the appointment of judges. Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said, "As per the existing policy and provision, there is no reservation in the Indian judiciary." "However, I have already reminded all the honourable judges, especially the collegium members, to keep in mind while recommending the names to include members from backward communities, women and other categories which are not represented adequately in the Indian judiciary," he added. Responding to a separate query on the pendency of cases in Gujarat, Ministe

SC to hear pleas, state laws related to religious conversions on March 17

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear on March 17 pleas dealing with two separate issues of alleged fraudulent conversions and challenge to various state laws on religious conversions due to interfaith marriages respectively. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud was urged by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed a PIL in his personal capacity, that his plea against fraudulent religious conversions was distinct from the batch of petitions which are challenging the validity of various state laws on religious conversions. I am neither supporting the state laws nor opposing them. My petition deals with separate issue of fraudulent religious conversions, the lawyer told the bench which also comprised Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala. Upadhyay sought hearing on his PIL separately. All the petitions are before us on March 17, 2023, the CJI said and for the time being, ruled out the possibility of a separate hearing on the PIL. The PIL has sought direction to

There are no big or small cases for court, every matter is important: CJI

Maintaining that the Supreme Court has made a constant endeavour to ensure access to justice for everyone, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said there are no big or small cases for the court and that every matter is important. Speaking at the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court, he said every day, the Supreme Court has hundreds of cases on its docket and the judges and the staff of the Registry put up tremendous hard work to ensure their speedy disposal. CJI Chandrachud said the top court disposed of 12,471 cases in the last three months. "For the court, there are no big or small cases every matter is important. Because it is in the seemingly small and routine matters involving grievances of citizens that issues of constitutional and jurisprudential importance emerge. In attending to such grievances, the court performs a plain constitutional duty, obligation and function," he said. Between March 23, 2020, and October 30, 2022, the apex court heard 3