Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Judicial Activism: 'When judiciary goes astray, there is no way of correcting it'
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that problems would not arise if everyone stayed within their limits and focused only on their jobs.
FollowLaw Minister Kiren Rijiju has said that there are times when the judiciary goes beyond its boundaries without understanding the practical difficulties or financial conditions of the Executive. He further said that unlike the other two pillars of democracy -- Legislature and the Executive -- that are corrected by the judiciary when they go astray, there is no way of correcting the judiciary when it goes astray.
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Asked for his views on 'judicial activism' at an event organised by a weekly magazine Panchjanya -- published by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Rijiju said, 'If there is no arrangement to control the judiciary or to make it stay within its limits, then words like judicial activism get used. Observations of many judges are not part of their orders. Through those observations, in a way, they present their thoughts. Sometimes there is resentment in society. In my interactions with judges, I tell them very frankly that it would be much better if judges wanting to convey something incorporate it in their order (judgment copy) rather than statements.'
'Secondly, when judiciary goes beyond its boundaries... for example, if a judge says 'shift this garbage from here to there' or 'complete a group of people's appointment within 10 days' or summons the PWD engineer to court and tell him to clear the garbage from the road -- these come under the ambit of the Executive. As a judge, you will not know about practical difficulties or financial conditions. A judge in Uttar Pradesh said that within a certain of days, all district hospitals must have Covid medicine, ambulances and oxygen. We have to have these with us in adequate numbers to supply! So this is a practical thing. If you collate all these issues, you will see that those who have been given a certain responsibility should focus on that alone. That would be better. Otherwise, people will say that we are doing Executive Activism,' he added.
Rijiju said that problems would not arise if everyone stayed within their limits and focused only on their jobs.
'Constitution is our most sacred document. We get our rights from the Constitution. There are many things that are not in written form in the Constitution. And there are many things that are divided by a very thin line. Of the three pillars (Judiciary, Legislature and the Executive), the legislature and the executive have their boundaries. And if they deviate from their path, the judiciary corrects them. The problem is, when judiciary goes astray, there is no way of correcting it,' he said.
'We have a very vibrant democracy. At times, sometimes we resort to appeasement politics. No group wants to project that they are against the judiciary. We have not done anything in the last eight years under the leadership of Narendra Modi that would harm the judiciary or undermine the authority of the judiciary. But if we want to bring some improvements, the citizens' sentiment should reflect in them,' he added.
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