Signs of thaw: Re-setting the judicial compass

In 2013, speaking at an event, the former Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir had said that in India, there are only 15 judges for every one million population, making it one of the lowest judge-population ratios in the world.

Four years later, not much has changed, except that India has its first majority government in three decades.

One of the first significant steps of the Narendra Modi government was to get both houses of Parliament and majority of state legislatures to pass the contentious Constitutional amendment, aimed at replacing the opaque collegium system.

But, it led to a fresh round of judiciary versus government discord. This discord between came to a head when a Supreme Court bench headed by current Chief Justice of India J S Khehar scrapped the National Judicial Appointment Commission (NJAC) Act on October 17, 2015. From then on, till (then CJI) T S Thakur's retirement, it as all downhill in so far as relations between the two sides was concerned, with both sides missing no opportunity to take potshots at each other - in public.

The dissolution of the governments in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh only worsened the situation.

"500 judges posts are vacant in the high courts. They should be working today, but they are not. At present, there are several vacant courtrooms in India but no judges available. A large number of proposals are still pending and hope the government will intervene to end this crisis," former CJI Thakur had said at an event in 2016 seeking government intervention to overcome shortage of judges in high courts and tribunals.

However, at the same event Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had disagreed and stated that the Modi-led government has made the highest number of judicial appointments in almost a quarter of a century.
Despite the acrimony, the government continued to clear names for appointment to higher judiciary.

From the yet-to-be-finalised Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), stalled appointments and non-movement of files, the list of issues that continue to plague the relations between government and the judiciary is long. Access to justice within reasonable time – a basic right accorded to citizens in the Constitution - became an unlikely victim in this bitter public battle of the parents.

The relationship however, has taken a significant turn with the elevation of Chief Justice of India JS Khehar.

The Supreme Court collegium has now made relative peace with the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) – a long standing thorn and once a bone of contention. Before the logjam, CJI Thakur had refused to agree to the controversial national security clause the government wanted to insert in the MoP. This would allow the government to hold the power to reject any name for appointment as a judge of the high court for reasons of "national security." The collegium under CJI Khehar has held on to that position, making it clear to the government that interference in appointments was not acceptable.

While it has not been smooth sailing, the collegium has at least conceded on accepting integrity reports on judges prepared by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) before making appointments.

Six months of 2017 has seen some interesting moments between the judiciary and the government. Under CJI Khehar, the SC has taken a strong stand against triple talaq, convicted J Jayalalithaa, reopened the investigation in the Babri Masjid demolition case, banned liquor on state and national highways, ordered the compulsory singing of national anthem in theatres, and stood up for farmers of West Bengal when it held the State's acquisition of land for Tata's Nano car factory under the emergency clause as unconstitutional.

IT has also upheld the death penalty in two cases where crimes against women were heinous, thereby sending a strong message to the society that bayed for blood.

In the last three years, there have been several allegations of corruption against many members of the higher judiciary.

Calcutta High Court judge Justice CS Karnan became the first judge in India's independent history to be censured by court and held in contempt when he wrote a letter to the PMO in January alleging corruption against various sitting and retired members of the higher judiciary.

In holding him in contempt, the SC awarded Justice Karnan a six-month prison term. However, all appeals by Justice Karnan, who is now in hiding, have fallen on deaf ears.

Similarly, there was criticism in the way former Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul's suicide letter was handled. The former CM hung himself on August 9, 2016 at his official residence in Itanagar, leaving behind some sets of type-written (in Hindi) note bearing his signature on every page, which levelled serious allegations against some members of the judiciary and politicians.

Since his death, his widow Dangwimsai has approached senior judges of the SC, appealed, and even appealed to the Vice-President to no effect.

While, the working and the functions between the Centre and the judiciary seem to have gained smooth ground, sweeping certain issues under the carpet leaving a bitter after taste. But, on the brighter side, both the Supreme Court collegium and the government have started clearing names for various high courts.