New Delhi, June 2
Chief Justice of India R.C. Lahoti today categorically said there was no move to transfer any judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the wake of 25 of them taking mass protest leave in April due to their alleged differences with the Chief Justice.
Putting on top priority the resolution of any perceived difference between the High Court’s Chief Justice and the judges, Mr Justice Lahoti, who took over as CJI yesterday, in an interview with The Tribune said the reports about the transfers were incorrect.
“Any such report is factually incorrect and no such decision has been taken, nor even any thought process has ever been initiated,” he said.
Mr Justice Lahoti, who had played a crucial role in defusing the Punjab and Haryana High Court crisis, said resolving the issue was not such a serious problem.
“We will talk to the High Court Chief Justice and all judges, and take them into confidence. The Chief Justice and the judges are sensible and responsible persons and only some minor misunderstandings have got enlarged into a serious problem, but they are all in a manageable limit,” he said.
“With the help of my senior colleagues in the Supreme Court and by taking the (High Court) Chief Justice and the judges into confidence, a congenial atmosphere and smooth working of the Punjab and Haryana High Court will be restored,” he assured.
Asked about his comments on the Supreme Court’s move to initiate action on a petition of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the Gujarat riot cases, including the Best Bakery case, Mr Justice Lahoti said, “Gujarat was an extraordinary case, which demanded for an extraordinary measure and the judiciary has only risen to do its constitutional duty.”
To a question about the scope of a public interest litigation (PIL) in dealing with a Gujarat-like situation and his views on the so-called “judicial activism”, the CJI said “judicial activism is a misnomer. The judiciary is supposed to be always active under the Constitution. The day it becomes inactive, it will be failing in its duty.”
In dealing with a PIL, if the court reminded the Executive and the Legislature to do their duty and asked them to do what was required to be done under the law, “I think the PIL has served its purpose,” he said.
Asked about his views on the need for a “uniform civil code” in the light of a recent Supreme Court judgement stating that the government had failed in its duty to achieve this in past 50 years, the CJI said, “The court has only reminded the government about the constitutional position and the directive principles. There was nothing new in it.”
Responding to the proposal of Law Minister H.R. Bharadwaj that the UPA government was ready to consider to bring a legislation to give more powers to the CJI and the collegium to effectively deal with any Punjab and Haryana High Court like situation or any alleged “misconduct” by judges if such a proposal came from the Supreme Court, he said, “Presently I don’t think there is any need for such a law. But if a situation arises in future requiring such a legislation, we will certainly initiate such a move.”
“Assumption of power by the Supreme Court and the CJI for dealing with High Court judges directly may amount to inteference with the delicate balance of distribution of powers and the judicial system as structured by the Constitution,” he said, adding that it was for the people and their
representatives in Parliament to assess the performance of the judiciary.
He, however, said Parliament had “failed” to deal with the only impeachment case that had come before it with full support of the Supreme Court.
“If Parliament feels by its experience of the past and needs of the present that a better procedure can be devised, let there be a debate. But personally I would not agree to any procedure or mechanism which deprives the judiciary and any of its constituents of their independence,” he said.
The in-house procedure devised by the Supreme Court to deal with any matter relating to judges “is very ideal. It vests powers in the peers. No doubt, it has not been used much. It needs to be activated,” he asserted.
Asked as to how he planned to deal with mounting cases before the courts in the country, Mr Justice Lahoti said “some rethinking and restructuring needs to be done to keep pace with increasing demands, changing times and the upcoming methodologies.”
“We are working with one-fifth or one-sixth of the actual number of judges required. A serious thought has to be given to the Law Commission recommendations of having 50 judges for a million population,” he said.
Spelling out his priorities in this regard, he said filling of the 208 vacant posts of High Court Judge would be expedited in a phased manner, keeping in mind that the selection process was “flawless” and right persons appointed.
“If you compromise on merit in selecting a judge and allow any other consideration than it, then there is bound to be a delay. If you go solely by merit, there will be no delay,” he said.
Mr Justice Lahoti said he would ask the courts to expedite on priority corruption cases, criminal cases in which accused were lodged in jail, cases of senior citizens, matrimonial disputes, labour and service disputes in which incumbent was out of job and those pending in the courts for a long time.
On touching the feet of his mother to seek her blessings after being sworn-in as the CJI yesterday, he said nothing unusual should be read in it as it was a routine thing for him to seek the blessings of his mother when taking a new assignment. “Such a gesture is but natural, our children do it to us and I do it to my parents. It was instinctive and teaches us about preservation of our values,” he said.
“We are being attracted to the western culture and in the process we have forgotten our values. This leaves us neither here nor there. We must stick to our cultural values by suitably adapting them to the demands of
modern times in tune with the advancements made in the field of science and technology without sacrificing our basics,” he said.
