Fali Nariman and other Indian jurists have been arguing that the move of the opposition parties to impeach the current CJI of India, Dipak Mishra, is a wrong move and that it will dent the credibility of the Supreme Court of India. First of all, the jurists should understand that Supreme Court of India is an institution and Chief Justice of India is the office bearer of the institution. The institutions are more important than the individuals who are holding different offices under it. The constitution of India mandates that those who are not suitable for the job of the CJI should be impeached, it is the constitutional process.

The faith in the institution of the courts was raked recently when the four judges of the Supreme Court of India came in open against the present CJI and they claimed that the democracy is in danger and that the Supreme Court is being run like it is the only privy to the whims and fancies of the CJI. If that was not a rebel within the institution, what was that? It cannot be reduced to routine administrative matter if the government machinery silences the press so that no further news is reported on such important matters of national importance.

Judging by the speed and processes by which the “terrorists” in the series of bomb blasts in India are released by the judiciary must call for attention to the intention of the judiciary. The judiciary in India is dominated by a network of a few families that come from elite and upper caste families. The Judiciary is not the representative of the different sections of the Indian communities. Even the reservation cases are heard by the bench of judges who solely come from the upper caste backgrounds.

The cases of minorities are heard by the majoritarian representatives. While thousands of Dalits and Muslims languish in jails without trials, the upper caste backed terrorists (if bombing the trains and mosques is not terror what other words we can use it to describe it) roam freely. The killers of Pansare, Kalburgi, and Dabholkar roam freely. Why they have such an impunity in this country which is founded on rule of law?

India needs judicial reforms

First of all, Judiciary should be made representatives of all. The SCs. STs, and OBCs must represent judiciary in proportionate to their population. It is the duty of the government in the democracy to ensure full representation to all the communities. The reservation in the judiciary is very important for the judiciary to become responsible to all. [Read – What is wrong with Indian judiciary system.]

Secondly, the cases coming out of the interpretation of the constitution and constitutional mandates like reservation must be heard by the bench consisting of the representative bench, not just a few upper caste judges. They can be prejudiced.

Thirdly, the judicial activism must be stopped as it is not a legislative body. In case of Atrocity Act, the Supreme Court has no power to throw away what the Parliament of India has agreed to. It can test the constitutionality of the law passed by the Parliament, nothing else, it should do and become the super-legislative body.

Fourthly, when the powerful people are involved and named in the criminal cases, the Judiciary should ensure that they are not let loose on the technical grounds, but must take judicial action so that justice can be seemed to applied in their cases also so as to ensure to the common man that Judiciary is beyond influence of the powerful and a few.

Author – Mangesh Dahiwale, Human Rights Activist

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