Illustration by Saahil Faizan Mustafa February 18, 2021 00:00 IST Executive Order: Keep The Top Man On A Tight Leash outlookindia.com 2021-02-25T09:11:49+05:30
I view with apprehension the attitude of judges who show themselves more executive-minded than the executive, remarked Lord Atkin in his historic dissent in Liversidge v. Anderson (1941). During the UPA era, much to the delight of the BJP, the CBI was termed as a “caged parrot” by the Supreme Court. In the past seven years of the NDA regime, the CBI has not behaved any differently but it does seem that the Supreme Court has become an Executive’s court, reviving memories of the Indira Gandhi era. Like it or not, judicial independence is a question of mere perception not fact. It is, in fact, an instrumental value defined by the purposes it serves.
outlookindia.com 2021-02-25T09:09:38+05:30
Judges should be neutral. They should judge purely in accordance with established principles of jurisprudence. They should be indifferent to the parties’ political or economic status. This is what we have been taught, what we would like to believe, and what we expect. These grandiose expectations, however, don’t always appear to translate to reality. Judges, especially lately, have been accused of bias towards governments. A growing hubbub of accusatory voices say the judiciary has become politicised, pointing at an increasing number of cases where judges appear to agree with the government’s point of view. The Supreme Court increasingly faces this criticism.
outlookindia.com 2021-02-19T14:33:05+05:30
Let truth be told. Ranjan Gogoi, the honourable Rajya Sabha MP, has as many detractors as diehard followers depending on who is on which side. He was nominated to the Upper House months after his tumultuous tenure as Chief Justice of India ended during which he controversially fast-tracked the Ram Janmabhoomi hearings, ruled in favour of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, and also strangely sat to hear a case of sexual harassment against himself. Gogoi is a polarising figure as is our divided polity. Yet, when he recently remarked that the judiciary in the country was in a ramshackle state and that few preferred to go to the courts these days, Gogoi got our attention. Though an unlikely candidate, he did prick our collective conscience.
outlookindia.com 2021-02-25T09:10:50+05:30
Justice Krishna Iyer was elevated as a Supreme Court judge on July 17, 1973, shortly after the appointment of Justice A.N. Ray as the Chief Justice of India, superseding three senior-most judges. Justice Iyer’s appointment was made by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India following the mandate of Article 124 of the Constitution, before the advent of the collegium system. His appointment to the Supreme Court evoked strong opposition from legal circles, especially the Bombay Bar led by Soli Sorabjee. Ideological objections were at the heart of this opposition after all Justice Krishna Iyer was an avowed communist. He had practiced as a lawyer and become a minister in the communist government in Kerala. His acquaintance and friendship with Mohan Kumaramangalam, the powerful Union minister for steel and mines was well-known. After completing three years’ tenure on the bench of the Kerala high court, he