All is not well with the Indian judiciary. That is why the lords of the law have had to scrutinise the points. These issues need to be addressed, the four honourable judges think. This time, the dissent has directly come from the judiciary, which is indeed, a vital part of our democratic system. This branch works independently, and the citizens hold immense confidence in its just functioning.
But, what has come out suddenly cannot divert us easily. However, there was an emphasis on ‘reciprocal repair’, as the shocked government took a cautious stance – with the Minister of State for Law, PP Choudhary, saying that the judiciary will sort out the matter itself. Moreover, people are getting uncomfortable with this situation. The four judges have drawn attention towards the complexity which has seeped into our judiciary. These issues have become the focus of one and all in the country.
There is an exceptional disorder in the judiciary, as the top Supreme Court judges have gone up against Chief Justice Dipak Misra in public, citing his affection for preferred benches. Controversies against the judges have blotted the judiciary on several occasions before, but this one is quite serious in today’s political scenario.
Even when we are looking entirely at this new concern, the ruling party casually and sagely dropped its vision. The political parties have quickly responded with their respective viewpoints. The Congress’ party president Rahul Gandhi tersely said that the points raised by the judges were extremely serious. Trinamool Congress’s leader Mamata Banerjee said: “Extreme interference of Central Government with judiciary is dangerous for democracy.” The CPM leader, Sitaram Yechury, described the judges’ allegations as very, very serious charges.
There was nothing casual about this fresh, embarrassing situation. All of these parties are aware of the fact that whatever has come out of the judges’ mouth has a very serious effect on the politics.
The mouths of legal experts have run dry as pro-BJP parties are not saying much about the complicated situation. On the other hands, the judges did not hesitate in energetically expressing their deep feelings, as they emphasised upon the fact they do not want wise men in the future to say that they had sold their souls.
Indeed, nothing trivial, insignificant or unimportant was talked about. The people heard the smirk in their voices. They seemed to have been flushed with the resentment persisting in the judicial system since long. In that regard, these allegations were a stinging slap. The government, on the other hand, is consciously keeping aloof on the Memorandum of Procedure and the allocation of cases.