Patna, March 1: Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan today stressed the need for setting up a national judicial commission (NJC) to insulate the judiciary from government influence as judges pass “coloured judgments in the hope of post-retirement appointment”.
“We have seen that sometimes judges pass coloured orders and judgments in the hope of getting post-retirement appointments. So there is a need for an independent body (NJC) to make appointments, transfers and promotions of judges so that the judiciary is not influenced by the executive functionary,” Bardhan said.
The CPI general secretary was addressing a seminar on “Judicial Accountability” organised by Indian Association of Lawyers in the state capital.
“We are not in favour of the system where judges appoint judges. It is not correct. We also do not want the Prime Minister or government’s say in the selection, appointment, promotions and transfers of judges. We are of the firm belief that there has to be a NJC, which would be insulated both from the influences of the judiciary and the government,” Bardhan, who was here to oversee the preparations of the party’s 21st five-day congress to be organised in the capital from March 21, said.
Dealing with the issue of judicial activism, the senior Communist leader held executive government’s failure to discharge its duty as the reason for “judicial activism”.
“When the executive fails to take a decision or does not take any decision or deliberately defers the decision, then people don’t have any option but to approach the judiciary. Judiciary is one of the very important pillars of democracy,” Bardhan said, while giving the example of KG basin gas where the court had to decide the gas price.
He lamented over some judgments by Supreme Court and high courts which did not go in favour of people like judgment taking away the people’s right to go on strike and bandh.
On corruption in the judiciary, Bardhan said it was a very difficult and sensitive issue to link judiciary and corruption in a casual way.
