Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today sounded a note of caution against politicising internal differences between judges while stating that independent judiciary is a sine qua non..He was speaking at the inauguration of the new court block of Delhi High Court which will be dedicated exclusively for hearing commercial cases..“If Indian democracy has to succeed, an independent judiciary is a sine qua non and judges of India – of the Supreme Court and High Courts – have led by example. .There will be differences among the judges, it has happened in the past too. But let us trust the foresight and statesmanship of the judiciary itself to settle those differences. Political process should never intervene. In the past, there have been differences but the political process never intervened..The same degree of restraint I would expect from my political colleagues across the board; Let us not politicise those differences”, he said..He also said that litigation designed to provoke political debate should be avoided..“Collusive litigation designed to provoke political debate should always be avoided.”.Prasad also spoke about the “pre-eminence” of Delhi High Court..“Delhi High Court has acquired a pre-eminent position in its fifty-two years of existence. In many ways, it provokes envy in High Court having a recorded history of more than 150 years..What has made Delhi High Court very pre-eminent? One is the location, it is situated in the national capital. Second, some of the best cases are decided here. Good quality of judges and lawyers is another reason.”.Waxing eloquent about Justice HR Khanna who was a Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Prasad said,.“There have been judges who became distinguished and outstanding. But for me, Delhi High Court produced an icon who would remain the shining symbol of Indian democracy for coming 100s of years – Justice HR Khanna. He stood for the cause of human freedom and liberty during the most trying times by giving a dissent in ADM Jabalpur. That dissent of Justice HR Khanna came as a beacon of hope to us. .The conduct of some of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judges in ADM Jabalpur [unclear] and this shows the greatness of the Supreme Court of India that subsequently ADM Jabalpur was never referred to and ultimately it had to be set aside. That also showed the beauty of our court system, its independence and its courage.” .Importantly, Prasad also said that the government would be taking a decision on the slew of recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments to High Courts..“In the year 2016, we appointed 126 High Court judges, the highest in last 30 years. In 2017 we appointed 115 High Court judges. This year, we have appointed 34 judges till now. We have received 93 recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium and by this weekend we will be able to [unclear] a total 126 references to Supreme Court Collegium for appointment to different High Courts.”
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today sounded a note of caution against politicising internal differences between judges while stating that independent judiciary is a sine qua non..He was speaking at the inauguration of the new court block of Delhi High Court which will be dedicated exclusively for hearing commercial cases..“If Indian democracy has to succeed, an independent judiciary is a sine qua non and judges of India – of the Supreme Court and High Courts – have led by example. .There will be differences among the judges, it has happened in the past too. But let us trust the foresight and statesmanship of the judiciary itself to settle those differences. Political process should never intervene. In the past, there have been differences but the political process never intervened..The same degree of restraint I would expect from my political colleagues across the board; Let us not politicise those differences”, he said..He also said that litigation designed to provoke political debate should be avoided..“Collusive litigation designed to provoke political debate should always be avoided.”.Prasad also spoke about the “pre-eminence” of Delhi High Court..“Delhi High Court has acquired a pre-eminent position in its fifty-two years of existence. In many ways, it provokes envy in High Court having a recorded history of more than 150 years..What has made Delhi High Court very pre-eminent? One is the location, it is situated in the national capital. Second, some of the best cases are decided here. Good quality of judges and lawyers is another reason.”.Waxing eloquent about Justice HR Khanna who was a Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, Prasad said,.“There have been judges who became distinguished and outstanding. But for me, Delhi High Court produced an icon who would remain the shining symbol of Indian democracy for coming 100s of years – Justice HR Khanna. He stood for the cause of human freedom and liberty during the most trying times by giving a dissent in ADM Jabalpur. That dissent of Justice HR Khanna came as a beacon of hope to us. .The conduct of some of the Hon’ble Supreme Court judges in ADM Jabalpur [unclear] and this shows the greatness of the Supreme Court of India that subsequently ADM Jabalpur was never referred to and ultimately it had to be set aside. That also showed the beauty of our court system, its independence and its courage.” .Importantly, Prasad also said that the government would be taking a decision on the slew of recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointments to High Courts..“In the year 2016, we appointed 126 High Court judges, the highest in last 30 years. In 2017 we appointed 115 High Court judges. This year, we have appointed 34 judges till now. We have received 93 recommendations from the Supreme Court Collegium and by this weekend we will be able to [unclear] a total 126 references to Supreme Court Collegium for appointment to different High Courts.”