Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju in Rajya Sabha said that the root cause of the huge pendency of cases in courts is 'judicial vacancy' which will continue to be a problem until a new system for appointment of judges is adopted.

Congress leader Rajeev Shukla, Member of Parliament from Chhattisgarh, had raised a question as to whether the Central Government has any road map or plan to deal with the issue of the growing pendency of cases in courts throughout the country.

To this, Kiren Rijiju replied that the issue is truly concerning and the government is also taking it seriously as the number of pending cases is about to touch the figure of 5 crores. He said that there are many reasons behind this humongous pendency, however, the root cause is judicial vacancies.

While stressing that he did not want to comment much about the courts, as sometimes it is taken as the government is interfering with the powers of the courts, he said,

"We are definitely giving full support from our side to end the currency of cases, but until we do not create a system regarding the appointment, then the question of appointment of judges will continue to arise."

He highlighted that the process of appointment of judges was originally under the purview of the Government in consultation with the courts, however, it changed after 1993. "Now Govt has only limited powers... At present, the Government has no right to choose new names for the appointment apart from the names sent by the collegium," he said. 

He further apprised the house that in 2015, both— the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act unanimously which also got the support of 2/3rd of the States, however, the Top Court struck it down.

While stating that our country is governed by the Constitution in which the people hold the sovereignty, the Minister said, "but I feel that somewhere we are not able to work according to the spirit of our country, the spirit of the house".

He, furthermore, apprised the house that the Chief Justices of the High Courts as well as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court have been asked several times in person and in writing that new names should be sent to fill the vacancies of judges as soon as possible, and such list should contain names which possess quality and reflect the diversity of our country. "All castes, all religions and women especially should be included in the list," he said. 

Supreme Court Winter Vacation

Differences are being seen between Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Supreme Court Chief Justice DY Chandrachud regarding the appointment of judges and the collegium system. Both are engaged in reasoning from their own level. Meanwhile, now the views of both are completely different from each other even regarding the holidays in the courts. Chief Justice Chandrachud has declared winter vacation in the Supreme Court.

The Chief Justice said on Friday, “No bench of the Supreme Court will be available from December 17 to January 1 during the winter vacation. The apex court will now reopen on January 2.” A day before the Chief Justice announced the winter vacation, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju had questioned the long holidays of the courts.

Supreme Court will now open on January 2

The Law Minister had said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (December 15) itself, “There are many holidays in the courts, due to which those who demand justice have to face a lot of problems.” The very next day after this comment of the Law Minister, the Chief Justice declared a holiday of about 15 days. “No benches will be available from December 17 to January 1,” CJI Chandrachud told the lawyers present in the courtroom.

Bench can be formed on need

The Chief Justice said, “There will be no vacation bench during the winter break for Christmas and New Year. However, in any urgent matter the vacation officer can be contacted and if necessary a bench will be constituted.” Let us tell you that the vacation bench is constituted only during the long summer vacations.

‘Judges work even on holidays’

Former Justice also denied the statement of the Union Law Minister on the long holidays of the courts. The judges, including former CJI NV Ramana, said, “It is a misconception that judges are very comfortable and enjoy their holidays.” He had said, “Even during weekoffs and court holidays, judges continue to write pending judgments and research new cases. In the process, they lose many of the joys of life.”

References:

lawbeat.in