DNA Edit: Govt vs Judiciary

A duel between the judiciary and the executive has been stirring for quite some time now. The duel came to the fore when last August the then Chief Justice of India, TS Thakur, lashed out at the government for stalling the appointment of judges to the High Courts and bringing the work of the judiciary to a standstill.

This battle became more pronounced recently as the Supreme Court collegium has decided to cancel its earlier decision to transfer Justice Valmiki Mehta of the Delhi HC to the Andhra Pradesh and Telegana HC. The collegium has now decided to write to the Centre informing it of its decision to recall its earlier proposal to transfer Justice Mehta. This, after the government sat on the collegium’s recommendations for over a year.

The government followed the same modus operandi in another proposal, namely, the transfer of Justice MR Shah of the Gujarat HC to the Madhya Pradesh HC. A tussle between the different pillars of democracy is a sign of a healthy, thriving democracy where different voices are not just allowed to exist but also encouraged. But the circumstance in which this seemingly protracted fight has come about does not bode of any signs that are likely to strengthen the Constitution.

If anything, many have criticised the judiciary of folding under the government’s pressure and possibly laying the groundwork for scuttling the judiciary’s independence. It is for the collegium to fob off all attempts of the government to interfere in its working and to establish the same, it must send a message to the executive that it will not tolerate such stratagems.