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Former Minister Arun Shourie launched a blistering attack on the government, accusing it of trying to undermine the courts, while also criticising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra over his handling of recent crises in the judiciary, and the Supreme Court’s decision in the Judge Loya case.
Shourie was speaking at the launch of his new book Anita Gets Bail, published by Harper Collins, which describes the numerous problems faced by the courts, which have eroded public trust in them and their status as protectors of justice in the country.
According to the veteran journalist and economist, the government is deliberately trying to do this, based on their “totalitarian” mentality:
Shourie feels that it is essential for the judiciary to remain a strong pillar of society especially because the media is failing to do its job of holding the government accountable - though he did note that “unconventional media’ were still able to do a good job.
The Quint was able to speak with him after the event, where he discussed his concerns regarding the judiciary, the Justice KM Joseph situation, the Judge Loya case, and his criticisms of Chief Justice Dipak Misra. He also said he agreed with the attempted motion to impeach the CJI, and that there was enough evidence to justify this.
You can view the whole interview here:
In his full speech at the book launch, Shourie warned of the government’s continuous attempts to undermine the judiciary, and how it is not deterred even when it faces a setback like the rejection of NJAC in 2015.
Shourie highlighted the recent controversy over the Collegium’s recommendation to appoint Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court as another example of the government’s attempts to erode the judiciary.
He suggested that CJI Misra should have put his foot down and refused to appoint Indu Malhotra as a Supreme Court judge, unless Justice Joseph was appointed as a Supreme Court judge as well at the same time. In his view, Justice Malhotra herself should have refused to take her oath till this was done, reasoning that:
According to Shourie, this erosion was being done by accustoming us to a “new normal” where violations of the law were trivialised.
Examples of this included the way the new Deputy CM of Jammu & Kashmir called the Kathua rape and murder a ‘small thing’, and the way more than 50 witnesses have turned hostile in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case.
Shourie’s speech also took aim at current CJI Dipak Misra, saying that the way in which he was performing his role was of such convenience to the government, that it could only be according to the design of the government.
He was particularly critical of the CJI’s insistence on reaffirming his power as ‘master of the roster’, which in his opinion weakened the CJI’s credibility. He also noted that that since the CJI had been sworn in, all the Constitution Benches set up to hear big cases had not included any of the other senior judges of the Court.
This has become a pattern under the CJI, according to Shourie, including in the Judge Loya case. which he feels was full of infirmities.
“The present situation shows a failure of leadership,” said Shourie, “he has to do something.”
As a result, he urged senior lawyers and judges to counsel not the other senior judges, but instead advise the CJI himself on the consequences of the current situation.
This was perhaps a pointed rebuttal to criticism, of the four senior judges who held the press conference in January, by eminent lawyers like Soli Sorabjee and Fali Nariman, who were also present.
The CJI was not the only one he singled out for criticism. He also offered a damning indictment of the professionals - lawyers and journalists - who enable the “evil” being done by the government.
He went on to condemn the lawyers who represented parties in the Judge Loya case despite having represented BJP President Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case.
Shourie also slammed journalists for being disingenuous and not taking a stand, in the supposed aim of telling both sides of the story.
He concluded by asking everyone, especially professionals, to take the steps they could to save our institutions and thereby save the country.
All these issues and more are addressed in Anita Gets Bail, which derives its name from the difficulties faced by Shourie’s wife, who was implicated in a case which took years to be resolved in her favour.
Shourie’s comments followed an address by former CJI RM Lodha as part of the book launch, who had also expressed concerns over the independence of the judiciary. According to him:
Justice Lodha repeatedly emphasised the need for the judiciary to regain a spirit of collegiality, to find common ground and set aside any differences between the judges, so that the Supreme Court could move forward. For this to happen, however, he warned that the CJI had to take the lead.
Justice Lodha had also addressed the ‘master of the roster’ controversy, noting that while the CJI undoubtedly holds that position, that doesn’t give him the power to do what he wants - distribution of cases has to be fair and in the interests of the court.
Shourie’s speech was incredibly powerful, as was Justice Lodha’s (although more reserved), but no less was a powerhouse speech by former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court AP Shah, who slammed the Supreme Court’s decision to refuse an investigation into Judge Loya’s death.
Justice Shah offered a withering critique of the reasoning provided by the apex court for its decision, and quoted another commentator, Alok Prasanna Kumar who felt the judgment showed “that the court was not interested in finding out the truth.”
In sum, Justice Shah felt that:
You can read more about Justice Shah’s speech here.
Veteran senior advocate Fali Nariman also spoke at the book launch, urging a need for more judges and courts to deal with all the cases we face, and warning against drafting too many new laws, and the creation of new tribunals, saying: “In our desire to ensure justice, we often unduly delay it.”
Senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was asked by Shourie to read out a couple of excerpts from the book, that drew several laughs from the audience.
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