Chief Justice Dattu (left) with Prime Minister Modi at the meeting in New Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)
New Delhi, April 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today told the judiciary it should not be merely "powerful" but also "perfect", while acknowledging that it enjoyed the highest credibility among all the institutions in the country.
Addressing a joint conference of chief justices and chief ministers here, Modi also asked the judges whether the country's dozens of tribunals were necessary or merited dissolution so that more funds could be spared for the regular courts.
His description of the judiciary as "powerful" seemed an allusion to the recent verdicts against executive and legislative decisions, such as the cancellation of 2G spectrum and coal-block allocations and squashing of Section 66A of the IT Act.
The exhortation to be "perfect" appeared a hint that judges' own conduct should be above suspicion. Even "a single scar" on the judiciary's credibility, the Prime Minister said, would leave the people remedy-less.
"If we (politicians) do some mistake, there is a remedy. But if you (the judiciary) do some wrongdoing, there is no other remedy. Therefore, we look upon you as divine power," Modi said.
He sounded another caution: "It is easy to deliver judgments based on the law and the Constitution. There is a need to be cautious against perception-driven verdicts."
Modi added: "Government, media and all other institutions have a duty to strengthen the judiciary. Otherwise, we will be hitting our own feet with an axe."
Modi said the judiciary's inherent strength was that it had created an aura of infallibility through its conduct, tradition and history.
"But the question is, should we have a powerful or perfect judiciary? I am of the view that there is a feeling we have been powerful," the Prime Minister said.
"The speed with which it (the judiciary) is going, there is nothing wrong in it. But it should also be equally perfect. Our judiciary should be powerful and perfect, because this is the one place for the common man."
Modi then referred to how politicians were "under 24-hour scrutiny".
"Whether we put the right leg forward or the left leg forward, it is under constant scrutiny. Every five years we are accountable to the people," he said.
"If we do some mistakes, we are skinned alive, whereas the judiciary has high credibility. It has to further develop the DNA which would sustain that image. Even if there is a single scar, it would cause a huge loss, a huge loss to the country."
The Prime Minister said the legislature had made various laws - from the election and Lokpal laws to the Right to Information Act - to put fetters on politicians, but the need was to strengthen all the institutions of democracy.
"At home, parents keep things under lock and key not because of the fear of thieves, because thieves do not require keys - they can carry the entire locker. But the idea is to prevent the children at home from going astray," he said.
Modi then elaborated on the judiciary's "divine role".
No comments:
Post a Comment