"Judges appointing judges" a propagated myth: CJI Ramana
Hyderabad (PTI): The notion that "judges are themselves appointing judges" is a myth as the judiciary is just one of the many players involved in the process of selecting judicial officers, Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said on Sunday.
He was delivering the fifth Sri Lavu Venkatewarlu Endowment Lecture on "Indian Judiciary - Challenges of future" at Siddhartha Law College, Vijayawada.
He also said that in recent times, physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise and at times, there are concerted campaigns in the print and social media against judges if parties do not get a favourable order while these attacks appear to be "sponsored and synchronised."
There is a need to liberate the institution of public prosecutors. Total independence must be granted to them and to make them answerable only to the Courts, he further said.
"It is nowadays fashionable to reiterate phrases such as 'judges are themselves appointing judges'. I consider this to be one of the widely propagated myths. The fact is the Judiciary is merely one of the many players involved in the process," Justice Ramana said.
Recently, Kerala MP John Brittas had reportedly said during a debate in Parliament on The High Court and Supreme Court Judges (Salaries and Conditions of Service) Amendment Bill, 2021 that Judges appointing judges is unheard of anywhere.
"Many authorities are involved, including the Union Law Ministry, State Governments, Governor, High Court Collegia, Intelligence Bureau, and lastly, the topmost executive, who all are designated to examine the suitability of a candidate. I am sad to note that the well-informed also propagate the aforesaid notion. After all, this narrative suits certain sections, Justice Ramana said.
Appreciating the Centre for its efforts on appointing more judges, he said, some recommendations made by High Courts are yet to be transmitted to the Supreme Court by the Union Law Ministry. It is expected that the Government needs to strictly adhere to the timelines laid down in the Malik Mazhar Case.
The law enforcing agencies, particularly the specialised agencies, need to deal with malicious attacks on judiciary effectively, the CJI said, adding that it was unfortunate that unless the Court interfered and passed orders, the authorities generally do not proceed with the investigation.
"The Governments are expected and duty bound to create a secure environment so that the judges and judicial officers can function fearlessly," he said.
New media tools have enormous amplifying ability, but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad and the real and fake. Media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases, he further said.
He said historically, prosecutors in India have been under the control of the government.
"Hence it is not a surprise that they do not act independently. They do nothing to prevent frivolous and non-deserving cases from reaching the courts. Public Prosecutors automatically oppose bail applications without independently applying their mind. They attempt to suppress evidence during trial which could benefit the accused," Justice Ramana said.
A holistic rework needs to be undertaken. In order to insulate the Public Prosecutors, an independent selection committee may be constituted for their appointment. Best practices should be adopted after a comparative analysis of other jurisdictions, he opined.
While making legislations, the law makers must also think of providing effective remedies for issues which may arise out of the law and yet these principles seemingly are being ignored, he opined.
Citing the Bihar Prohibition Act in 2016 which resulted in the High Court being filled with a lot of bail applications, Justice Ramana said lack of foresight in legislating can directly result in the blockage of courts.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
