Relevance: mains: G.S paper II: Indian Polity: Judiciary
Which of the three pillars of our Constitution is comparatively performing better?
Many would respond saying ‘it’s the judiciary’ despite constraints. Of course, if bitten by political venom or part of grey admin system, perhaps they may differ, but their obvious motivated intent can’t hide the truth.
Governance is the maximum litigant in lakhs of pending cases before Courts. And surprisingly they want to have a big say in selection of Judges, having failed miserably in their home turf of politics, little-seen by way of revisits to outdated systems/processes, draconian laws such as sedition law, official secrecy act, crucial reforms, etc, not to talk of tightening of RTI route, sham probes, no law to protect whistleblowers, crucial witnesses in high profile cases.
No wonder ‘benefit of doubt’ verdicts empower the ‘wicked & vile’ as promptly said by our Hon’ble CJI and the relentless struggle by the judiciary to keep their independence is on and on for last few years.
Judge: Population ratio is low here. Judiciary is keen to have digitization in place. Many reports of Law Commissions are not even vetted, forget their implementation after feasibility studies by Politicians/Bureaucrats; whose main role is to provide basic infra & facilities to the judiciary.
Are the politicians willing to even examine the feasibility of holding most of the Parliamentary/Assembly sessions through video-conferencing, which has obvious several unimaginable advantages?
Many fields touched by politics, end up in politicization & polarization, with little headway. And now they want to indulge in costly experiments with the judiciary – not clear whether they have deliberated such political views in confidence with top layers of the judiciary, instead of the infamous pattern of talking to them through media outpours, not a healthy trend indeed.
It is improper to compare our growth rate with China, whose per capita GDP is five times more than ours; a false image is being created steadily as if we have surpassed China, while the truth is we are decades behind them on hi-tech or education type of crucial reformative practices.
Can the judiciary be even compared with other role-plays, say that of babus/technocrats, even doctors, scientists, etc.?
The subtle almost spiritual focus of judges in hearing many cases, more often within a short span of few minutes is being undermined. The vigil and alertness of judges in hearings, evaluation of evidence even beyond what is presented by lawyers (sham probes have hindered the due process of justice deliverance) and above all to keep mum on mudslinging spree of political intent with the code of ethical conduct, are beyond any compare. Human rights, hard-earned entitlements to basic rights, etc. are of late going for a toss, not to talk of flouting of inbuilt checks & balances in our political rules.
News management speciality of political rule with an eye on protecting their image, & endeavours to politically malign opposition and critics en-masse, bull-dozing & cover-up spree – are they healthy signs in our largest democracy?
There could be some exceptions even in the vibrant judiciary – but in politics, the opposite is the truth, rare exceptions of performing genuine leaders in the political quagmires & compulsions of populism & dramatics. Sync among the pillars of constitution, cohesive approach in the larger interest of the nation and its citizens, who own the constitution & national resources, can take us to fast-forward, instead of unfortunate bickering that could well be avoided in the decency and decorum of any system in tandem.