We are capable of conducting reverse operation: Dinesh Gundu Rao
Bengaluru, Jul 1: With two Congress MLAs in Karnataka Monday sending in their resignations to the Assembly Speaker, the Congress Monday accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the coalition government by blackmailing and threatening its MLAs.
Congress state president Dinesh Gundu Rao asserted that the coalition government was stable and has majority.
He warned of action against those trying to destabilise the government.
"A few people must have succumbed to such pressure but it will not affect the government.We have majority. If situation warrants, we too are capable of taking action of various types. We have not tried it yet," Rao told reporters.
Hours after Vijayanagara Congress MLA Anand Singh submitted his resignation to Speaker Ramesh Kumar, his party colleague and rebel legislator Ramesh Jarkiholi too sent in his resignation.
On Anand Singh submitting his resignation, Rao said "We don't know for what he had resigned... must be some pressure. BJP has been trying to destabilise the government.
Their agenda has been that there should not be a stable government."
Rao said he would speak to Singh and try to convince him but in the event nothing works out, he would leave it to him.
He alleged that the Centre had been misusing its authority by letting loose central agencies on opposition leaders.
"BJP leaders are blackmailing and threatening some people to create chaos. The central leaders are misusing their authority. They are misusing various central agencies and are building pressure on some people," Rao said.
BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said they were 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 said.
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Justice Nagarathna calls for creation of judicial reforms commission to reduce pendency in courts
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.
