After SC's strong remarks over judges' transfers, Kiren Rijiju says public is 'malik'
says nobody can give warning to anyone
Prayagraj (UP), Feb 4: A day after the Supreme Court warned of action for any delay in clearing transfer and appointment of judges, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the country will be governed according to the Constitution and wishes of the people and nobody can give warning to anyone.
"Public is 'malik' (master) of this country and we are servants. We all are here for service and the Constitution is our guide.... The country will be governed under the guidance of the Constitution and wishes of the public. Nobody can give warning to anyone," Rijiju said.
"Sometimes discussions are held in the country on some matters and in a democracy everyone has the right to express their opinion. But people sitting in responsible positions have to think before saying anything, whether it will benefit the country or not," he said, referring to reported remarks of a Supreme Court bench.
The minister was addressing an event on the 150th anniversary of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association here as the chief guest.
His remarks came a day after a bench of Justices S K Kaul and A S Oka expressed displeasure over the delay in clearing recommendations for transfer of high court judges, calling it a "very serious issue", and warned that any delay in this matter may result in both administrative and judicial actions which might not be palatable.
On Saturday, the Supreme Court also questioned the government over the delay in clearing the names of five high court judges who had been recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court. The judges were elevated to the Supreme Court on Sunday.
The remarks are the latest in a tug of war between the judiciary and the executive over the process of appointment of judges of the Supreme Court and high courts.
On the pendency of cases, Minister Rijiju said, "At present, 4 crore 90 lakh cases are pending in various courts across the country. We are solving this problem."
He said that in view of the huge number of pending cases, the government has made preparations to implement the Legal Information Management System so that a person will be able to get information about the status of the case in any high court on one click.
"Being the largest high court of the country, I wish that the Allahabad High Court should play a leading role in implementing the e-courts project. The government has abolished 1,486 old and outdated laws and the process of removing 65 such laws is going on in the current Parliament session," he said.
The minister also said the Arbitration Bill is in the final stages of preparation and after its passage, a parallel judicial system will be established in the country. With the system of arbitration, small cases will be settled outside the court and the burden on courts will be reduced, he said.
Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Vikram Nath of the Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and others attended the function.
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One nation, one election 'dangerous': Kamal Haasan
Chennai (PTI): One nation, one election proposal is 'dangerous', flawed and its scars still exist in some countries and hence it is not needed for India and it will not be required in future too, top actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam founder leader Kamal Haasan said here on Saturday.
Without naming any party or leader, Haasan said had simultaneous polls been held in 2014 or 2015, it would have led to a complete sweep, resulting in dictatorship, loss of freedom of speech and dominance of a single leader.
"You should understand that we have escaped from it...we have escaped from a disease more virulent than Coronavirus," he said addressing a party meet, apparently indicating that polls about a decade ago had been conducted without embracing the one nation, one election concept.
Though Haasan pointed to Europe and Russia when he commented on simultaneous polls, he did not specify any single country where it had failed.
What would happen if all traffic lights glow in the same colour at the same time, he asked and said people should be given time to think and pick their choice.
