Bangalore: After the Aug 23, 2005 “outburst” of Supreme Court Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti, a Hindu Marwari belonging to the Maheshwari sect of the Birlas, he continued his tirade. In a speech at Bhopal, he warned that the judiciary has the powers to clip the wings of the executive and legislature. (DV Edit Sept. 16. 2005: “We welcome long overdue confrontation between judiciary & legislature”).
He said:
“All three institutions -executive, legislature and judiciary should work in accordance with constitutional provisions and if anyone acts beyond its jurisdiction, judiciary can clip its wings”, he said at a seminar on “Quick and accessible justice: Co-operation between the executive and the judiciary”. (PTI-Deccan Herald Sept 4, 2005).
Contempt of court: But he did not say who has the powers to clip the wings of the judiciary if it acts beyond its limits.
That there is corruption in higher judiciary is admitted by the judges themselves. Thousands of cases are pending which means justice delayed is justice denied.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee report has pointed out the judicial impunity and the lack of accountability. It has also spoken of the power of contempt of court being interpreted as if they can intimidate the media for exposing the corruption, Arundati Roy was jailed. Can the court muzzle dissent. and stifle criticism? Are the courts above people and its elected representatives? Where does the sovereignty lie?
Why Speaker is silent: We are sorry no proper debate is taking place in the country because the upper caste domination of country on these subjects has made us into an intellectually dishonest society. Read our book, India’s Intellectual Desert (DSA-1999, Rs. 50).
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterji, who created a storm over judiciary’s “encroachment” into legislative domain in the Jharkhand case, later expressed concern over courts discharging executive functions through their orders on PILs. But even he is silent now. Why?
