What are the different ways in which the independence of the judiciary is ensured? Choose the odd ones out.
i. Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is consulted in the appointment of other judges of Supreme Court.
ii. Judges are generally not removed before the age of retirement.
iii. Judge of a High Court cannot be transferred to another High Court.
iv. Parliament has no say in the appointment of judges.
The correct options are (i) and (iii)
Statement (i): The Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court are appointed by the President after ‘consulting’ the CJI. This provision though hinders the independency of Judiciary, but the provision was made in order to avoid confliction with the executive.
Statement (ii): Removal of the judges is tedious task i.e. on the grounds of proven misbehaviour and after the motion is passed by special majority. Generally, the judges are removed after they attain 65 years of age.
Statement (iii): Judges can be transferred from high court to another.
Statement (iv): Parliament does not interfere in the appointment of the judges.
Does independence of the judiciary mean that the judiciary is not accountable to any one? Write your answer in not more than 100 words.
Independence of Judiciary means that:
1. The legislature and the executive must not obstruct the ways of judiciary in a manner that unable judiciary to take a just decision.
2. The other organs of the government must not interfere with the decision of judiciary.
3. The judges must be able to perform their duties freely and fairly.
Independence of Judiciary does not mean that it is not accountable to anyone. Since it is part of democratic political structure, Judiciary is accountable to the constitution of India and to the people of the country. Judiciary must work according to the laws of the constitution. Any kind of misbehaviour and incapacity of the judges leads to removal of the judges. The judges have to provide the grounds on which they took certain decisions.
What are the different provisions in the constitution in order to maintain the independence of judiciary?
Different provisions to maintain independence of judiciary are:
1. The legislature is not involved in the process of appointment of judges. In order to keep party politics distant from the judiciary, the provision was made.
2. The judges have a fixed tenure. They hold office till reaching the age of retirement. Only in exceptional cases, judges may be removed. But otherwise, they have security of tenure.
3. The judiciary is not financially dependent on either the executive or legislature. The Constitution provides that the salaries and allowances of the judges are not subjected to the approval of the legislature.
4. Parliament cannot discuss the conduct of the judges except when the proceeding to remove a judge is being carried out.
Read the news report below and identify the following aspects:
A. What is the case about?
B. Who has been the beneficiary in the case?
C. Who is the petitioner in the case?
D. Visualise what would have been the different arguments put forward by the company.
E. What arguments would the farmers have put forward?
Supreme Court orders REL to pay Rs 300 crore to Dahanu farmers
Our Corporate Bureau 24 March 2005
Mumbai: The Supreme Court has ordered Reliance Energy to pay Rs. 300 crore to farmers who grow the chikoo fruit in the Dahanu area outside Mumbai. The order comes after the chikoo growers petitioned the court against the pollution caused by Reliance’s thermal power plant.
Dahanu, which is 150 km from Mumbai, was a self-sustaining agricultural and horticultural economy known for its fisheries and forests just over a decade ago, but was devastated in 1989 when a thermal power plant came into operation in the region. The next year, this fertile belt saw its first crop failure. Now, 70 per cent of the crop of what was once the fruit bowl of Maharashtra is gone. The fisheries have shut and the forest cover has thinned. Farmers and environmentalists say that fly ash from the power plant entered ground water and polluted the entire eco-system. The Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority ordered the thermal station to set up a pollution control unit to reduce sulphur emissions, and in spite of a Supreme Court order backing the order the pollution control plant was not set up even by 2002. In 2003, Reliance acquired the thermal station and re-submitted a schedule for installation process in 2004. As the pollution control plant is still not set up, the Dahanu Taluka Environmental Protection Authority asked Reliance for a bank guarantee of Rs. 300 crores.
A. The case discuss about the loss that was made to the farmers in the production of chikoo, because of the pollution generated by the thermal power plant of Reliance Energy.
B. The farmers were the beneficiary in the case.
C. The chikoo growing farmers are the petitioner in the case.
D. The different arguments could be:
1. The power plants could be set up far from the town or village in order to keep the effects of pollution at bay.
2. The power plants helped the villagers by providing employment to masses.
E. The arguments could be:
1. The loss of chikoo production has adversely affected agriculture and the economy of the region.
2. The increased pollution has caused health issues in the region.
Read the following news report and,
A. Identify the governments at different levels
B. Identify the role of Supreme Court
C. What elements of the working of judiciary and executive can you identify in it?
D. Identify the policy issues, matters related to legislation, implementation and interpretation of the law involved in this case.
Centre, Delhi join hands on CNG issue
By Our Staff Reporter, The Hindu 23 September 2001
NEW DELHI, SEPT. 22. The Centre and the Delhi Government today agreed to jointly approach the Supreme Court this coming week… for phasing out of all non-CNG commercial vehicles in the Capital. They also decided to seek a dual fuel policy for the city instead of putting the entire transportation system on the single-fuel mode “which was full of dangers and would result in disaster.’’
It was also decided to discourage the use of CNG by private vehicle owners in the Capital. Both governments would press for allowing the use of 0.05 per cent low sulphur diesel for running of buses in the Capital. In addition, it would be pleaded before the Court that all commercial vehicles, which fulfil the Euro-II standards, should be allowed to ply in the city. Though both the Centre and the State would file separate affidavits, these would contain common points. The Centre would also go out and support the Delhi Government’s stand on the issues concerning CNG.
These decisions were taken at a meeting between the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, and the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr. Ram Naik.
Ms. Dikshit said the Central Government would request the court that in view of the high powered Committee appointed under Dr. R.A. Mashelkar to suggest an “Auto Fuel Policy”’ for the entire country, it would be appropriate to extend the deadline as it was not possible to convert the entire 10,000-odd bus fleet into CNG during the prescribed time frame. The Mashelkar Committee is expected to submit its report within a period of six months.
The Chief Minister said time was required to implement the court directives. Referring to the coordinated approach on the issue, Ms. Dikshit said this would take into account the details about the number of vehicles to be run on CNG, eliminating long queues outside CNG filling stations, the CNG fuel requirements of Delhi and the ways and means to implement the directive of the court.
The Supreme Court had …refused to relax the only CNG norm for the city’s buses but said it had never insisted on CNG for taxis and auto rickshaws. Mr. Naik said the Centre would insist on allowing use of low sulphur diesel for buses in Delhi as putting the entire transportation system dependent on CNG could prove to be disastrous. The Capital relied on pipeline supply for CNG and any disruption would throw the public transport system out of gear.
The government at the different levels are state government and central government represented by chief minister and Union Petroleum minister.
A. The supreme court played a significant role by instructing authorities to take steps to curb pollution.
B. The judiciary acts in a manner to provide justice to everyone whereas the executive is concerned with the directives of judiciary.
C. The main policy was the transformation of public transport to cleaner fuel of CNG.
D. The Supreme Court interpreted the law that clean environment to be provided to the citizens of Delhi. Judicial activism pressurised the executive to implement the law soon.
The following is a statement about Ecuador. What similarities or differences do you find between this example and the judicial system in India?
“It would be helpful if a body of common law, or judicial precedent, existed that could clarify a journalist’s rights. Unfortunately, Ecuador’s courts don’t work that way. Judges are not forced to respect the rulings of higher courts in previous cases. Unlike the US, an appellate judge in Ecuador (or elsewhere in South America, for that matter) need not provide a written decision explaining the legal basis of a ruling. A judge may rule one way today and the opposite way, in a similar case, tomorrow, without explaining why.”
The differences are:
1. Unlike the judges of Equador an Indian judge had to provide written decision that explains legal basis to the ruling.
2. Unlike Equador an Indian judge may not rule one way today and another way tomorrow.
3. Unlike Equador the Indian judges have to follow the instruction of the higher court.
Read the following statements: Match them with the different jurisdictions the Supreme Court can exercise - Original, Appellate, and Advisory.
A. The government wanted to know if it can pass a law about the citizenship status of residents of Pakistan-occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir.
B. In order to resolve the dispute about river Cauvery the government of Tamil Nadu wants to approach the court.
C. Court rejected the appeal by people against the eviction from the dam site.
Original Settles disputes between Union and States and amongst States.
Appellate Tries appeals from lower courts in Civil, Criminal and Constitutional cases.
Advisory Advises the President on matters of public importance and law.
A. Advisory.
Since the government wants to know or seeks an advise regarding the provision.
B. Original
The river dispute concerns the two states, so needs the original jurisdiction.
C. Appellate.
The lower court rejected the appeal of the people, so now they would appeal to the higher judiciary.
In what way can public interest litigation help the poor?
When courts hear a case where the case was filed not by the aggrieved persons but by others on their behalf and the case involves issue of public interest is called Public Interest Litigation or PIL.
1. PIL has become the most important vehicle of judicial activism.
2. Since the cases or issues of poor who do not have money to approach courts, could be appealed by anyone and could be heard in courts, made judiciary popular among the masses.
3. Clean air, unpolluted water, decent living etc. are rights for the entire society, and every man has the right to these. Whenever such rights are violated PIL are appealed by social workers or any spirited citizen on behalf of the aggrieved.
Do you think that judicial activism can lead to a conflict between the judiciary and the executive? Why?
Judicial activism could lead to a conflict between judiciary and executive because of the interference of judiciary into the domain of executive.
1. The court has been involved in resolving questions which belong to the executive.
2. Issues related to clean air or corruption comes under the domain of the executive. And the above being dealt by the judiciary makes the balance between the organs of government delicate.
3. These confers extra ordinary powers of the judiciary.
How is judicial activism related to the protection of fundamental rights? Has it helped in expanding the scope of fundamental rights?
1. Judicial Activism is related to protection of fundamental rights as it has made the issues of poor and common people and violation of their rights, reach to the courts. This helps common people seeks justice.
2. It can restore fundamental rights by issuing writs of Habeas Corpus; mandamus etc. by reviewing and declaring certain laws unconstitutional.
3. The PIL helps the poor to fight against discrimination.
Yes, it has helped in expanding the scope of fundamental rights.
Example: Clean air, unpolluted water, decent living etc. are rights for the entire society, and every man has the right to these. Whenever such rights are violated PIL are appealed by social workers or any spirited citizen on behalf of the aggrieved.