Cong MLA's resignation authenticates unease in Karnataka ruling coalition: Yeddyurappa
Bengaluru, Jul 1: Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa Monday said Vijayanagara Congress MLA Anand Singh's resignation authenticates large-scale unease in the ruling coalition and the government will collapse under its own weight, after which his party will explore the constitutional provisions to form the new government.
Ruling out the possibility of fresh polls, the former chief minister said those in the BJP were not "sanyasis" (seers), and the future of the government is based on the decision taken by over 20 disgruntled Congress-JD(S) legislators.
"About the political developments, I am yet to know about the resignation of Anand Singh. The only thing is that his resignation has authenticated me saying that there is large-scale unease in Congress. We are not bothered about the resignations, our first concern is the people and drought," he said.
"We will keep watching the situation. Anything may happen. If the government collapses, we are not responsible. It will collapse under its own weight," he told reporters.
"Only after the collapse of this government we can explore the constitutional provisions to form the new government. There is no question of elections. We are a strong force of 105 members and we have every right to make a claim for forming the government if the present one collapses," he added.
Congress MLA Anand Singh Monday announced his resignation, opposing the state government's decision to sell 3,667 acres to JSW Steel at Ballari, his home district.
He had also demanded that Vijayanagara be made a district.
Speculations are rife that Singh, who was a minister in the BJP government, may go back to the saffron party's fold.
He joined the Congress ahead of the May 2018 assembly polls.
Though there were speculations earlier about him going back to the BJP, Singh had denied it and expressed his loyalty to the Congress and the coalition government.
Stating that he has heard about Singh's resignation only through the media, Yeddyurappa in response to a question about more legislators resigning said, "Wait and watch."
Ruling out any attempts by the BJP to pull down the government or luring MLAs, he said let us see if legislators resign on their own.
A rout in the recent Lok Sabha polls and dissidence within the Congress-JD(S) coalition in Karnataka has led to fears of an onslaught by the BJP to destabilise the state government, a claim denied by the saffron party.
While the Congress and JD(S) managed to win only one seat each, the BJP in its best ever performance had won 25 out of 27 seats it had contested.
An independent candidate supported by the saffron party-Sumalatha Ambareesh- won in Mandya.
Responding to a question as to whether he was confident about the collapse of this government with resignation of MLAs, Yeddyurappa said, "I am only aware that over 20 Congress-JD(S) MLAs are disgruntled. I have been saying this for the last two months. The future of this government is based on what decision they take."
Asked whether the BJP was ready to form the government or will it go for polls, he said, "Are we sanyasis? There is no question about going for fresh elections. If MLAs resign and if we get an opportunity to form the government, we will form the government and give good administration."
With Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy recently inducting two independents into the ministry in an apparent move to give stability to his 13-month-old wobbly government, the coalition strength in the 224-member assembly stands at 118 (Congress-78, JD(S)-37, BSP-1 and Independents-2), besides the Speaker.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Justice B V Nagarathna of the Supreme Court on Saturday called for the creation of a judicial reforms commission to reduce mounting pendency in the courts, saying systemic incentives across stakeholders were contributing to delays in justice delivery.
She was speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association's (SCBA) first National Conference on the theme "Reimagining judicial governance: strengthening institutions for democratic justice" here.
Nagarathna, who was part of the panel session addressing "From Pendency to Prompt Justice: Rethinking Justice Delivery in Indian Courts," said, this reforms commission must have membership not only from the judiciary of the Supreme Court, the High Court, as well as the District judiciary, but also have members from the Bar, Attorney General, Solicitor General, and also certain members representing the Bar at the institutional level, such as the Bar President, and from the government side to enable an inter-institutional dialogue on reducing pendency.
She reflected that, from the point of view of various stakeholders, a litigant gains from the status quo, to proceed to prolong proceedings.
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"A lawyer or an advocate loves adjournments and postponement because he/she benefits from per appearance and extended timelines. A government department reduces bureaucratic risk by appealing rather than accepting defeat.
"A judge, and particularly a trial judge, is always acting with caution because he/she is confronted with appellate reversal, and therefore he/she prefers procedural caution rather than having an aggressive docket control. Each of these decisions is individually rational, but how does it help the system? It is only leading to systemic delay," she added.
In order to break this equilibrium, Justice Nagarathna said that what is required is institutional interventions through a judicial commission to reduce pendency, rather than merely exhorting better conduct from judges, adherence to procedural timelines, asking advocates not to seek adjournments, urging the government to reduce litigation, or expecting courts to function round the clock and judges not to take leave.
On pendency, the judge questioned the inclusion of defective filings in court statistics, suggesting that such cases should not be counted until they are procedurally ready for hearing.
She also underlined the role of the government as the "largest generator of litigation", noting that officials tend to file appeals to avoid scrutiny, even in cases where disputes could be settled earlier. This, she said, results in cases travelling through multiple judicial levels unnecessarily.
"The government publicly expresses concern about judicial backlog, while simultaneously feeding that backlog through relentless litigation," she observed.
Justice Nagarathna further claimed judicial capacity is constrained by inadequate public investment, including delays in appointment of judges, lack of infrastructure and insufficient use of technology.
Among the measures suggested, she called for improved case management, curbs on unnecessary adjournments, adoption of technology, prioritisation of cases, promotion of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, and creation of specialised benches.
She also urged advocates to adhere to professional and ethical standards, litigants to avoid frivolous appeals, and the government to adopt a practical litigation policy and ensure timely funding and appointments in the judiciary.
