A bristling and vexed agenda awaits next CJI, Justice UU Lalit — from long pending crucial cases to judicial appointments

Although Justice Lalit has a short tenure of 74 days, he has said he would use the opportunity to lay down “healthy practices” for the future.

Chief Justice of India (CJI), Demonetisation, Justice Lalit, Supreme Court, Indian Express, India news, current affairs, Indian Express News Service, Express News Service, Express News, Indian Express India NewsMany of these cases seek to question the arbitrary use of executive power, and when the top court does not hear them for years, it sends a disquieting message. In times when the perception is gaining ground that the judiciary, all too often, gives the benefit of the doubt to the powerful executive, not the vulnerable citizen, this message becomes even more troubling.

In nine days, Justice Uday Umesh Lalit is set to take over as the 49th Chief Justice of India. His appointment comes at a fraught time for the institution of the judiciary — crucial and consequential cases are waiting for their day in court. These include the challenge to the demonetisation scheme (2016), the law on electoral bonds (2017) and the abrogation of Article 370 and stripping of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (2019). The framers of the Constitution envisaged that critical questions concerning the interpretation of its letter and spirit will be heard by a minimum of five judges. This was in 1950 when the strength of the Supreme Court was the CJI and eight judges. Now, the top court has a sanctioned strength of the CJI and 33 judges. As of August 1, the SC’s own statistics show that 342 five-judge bench cases, 15 seven-judge bench cases and 135 nine-judge cases are pending. Many of these cases seek to question the arbitrary use of executive power, and when the top court does not hear them for years, it sends a disquieting message. In times when the perception is gaining ground that the judiciary, all too often, gives the benefit of the doubt to the powerful executive, not the vulnerable citizen, this message becomes even more troubling.Lalit

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In an interview to the Indian Express, Justice underlined the pressing need to set up a constitution bench of five judges or more that would sit through the year. “What has happened in the last few months or years is that the matters were not being taken up maybe (because of) various reasons; maybe because of the pandemic situation; maybe because the judges couldn’t actually sit together, couldn’t actually be coming together to the court…”, he said. While the pandemic has affected the functioning of the Court, it cannot be a reason for the Court to step back, or be seen to step back from its role as the guardian of the Constitution. The judiciary has to prioritize and assign these cases to larger benches. Full bench meetings are also crucial for judges to discuss administrative issues — there has not been a single such meeting since the January 2018 press conference in which four senior judges went public with their concerns, including on the functioning of the CJI’s office. On judicial appointments, Justice Lalit said that the government is bound by the collegium’s decision to appoint a judge, when it is reiterated. This underlining of the law is important and comes at a time when the government has dragged its feet on certain appointments. To take one example, the collegium — of which Justice Lalit was also a part — recommended the appointment of advocate Saurabh Kirpal, in November last year but the government is yet to appoint him. The college must engage with the government and ensure that its recommendations are implemented.

Although Justice Lalit has a short tenure of 74 days, he has said he would use the opportunity to lay down “healthy practices” for the future. Apart from managing the judicial functioning of the Court by setting up larger benches, the next CJI must also ensure that his colleagues, some of them future CJIs, are taken into confidence while taking steps to fine-tune the functioning of this important institution.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd

First published on: 18-08-2022 at 04:00:37 am

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