All state organs should have mutual respect for each other: Chief Justice

Chief Justice of India R M Lodha today said that there should be mutual respect among judiciary, Parliament and executive, each of which should be unhindered by “extraneous influence”.

His comments came a day after Parliament scrapped the collegium system of appointments.

“I am sure that people in judiciary, people in executive and people in Parliament are mature enough to have mutual respect for each other and ensure that each of them is permitted to work in their sphere unhindered by any extraneous influence,” Justice Lodha said after unfurling the tricolour in the Supreme Court premises on the occasion of 68th Independence Day.

He said Constitution makers made it sure that all organs of the state operate in their respective field without encroaching upon each other’s domain.

Notwithstanding the reservations of judiciary, Parliament had yesterday cleared two Bills providing for a new mechanism for appointment of judges to higher judiciary by scrapping the over two-decade-old collegium system.

In his speech, he referred to the appointment of less than 1,000 judges to higher judiciary by the present system of judiciary appointing judges but did not elaborate or refer to the proposed judicial appointments commission being put in place by the Government.

Apparently responding to criticism over inordinate delay in the justice delivery system, Justice Lodha noted that while judiciary is responsible for appointing less then 1,000 judges (of SC and HCs), the state governments appoint 19,000 judges in lower courts.

Giving a break-up, the CJI said the present collegium system appoints 906 judges of the High Court and 31 of the Supreme Court.

“As head of judiciary, my heart feels pain when I find criminal justice system has given tremendous suffering, pain, exploitation of human rights and deprivation of human liberty,” he said, adding, that majority of prisoners in jails are undertrials.

“It is curious and tragic paradox that prisons are housed more by undertrials than convicts,” he said while noting that in central prisons more than 50 per cent inmates are undertrials and in the case of district prisons, the figure is more than 72 per cent.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was present at the function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association, said sanctity and independence of judiciary will be held high.

“Our government’s commitment to the sanctity and independence of judiciary is complete and we hold it very high,” Prasad said.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told him from the very start to ensure that outdated laws are scrapped.

“Till now, 36 outdated laws have been shortlisted and their repeal bills are pending. I will ensure that in the next session of Parliament around 200-300 outdated laws will be repealed. I am pursuing the matter,” Prasad said.

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