New Delhi, November 26
Expressing serious concern over increasing “sponsored and synchronized” attacks on judges, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Friday said the governments were expected to create a secure environment to enable judges and judicial officers to function fearlessly.
“An area of grave concern for the judiciary is the increasing attacks on judges. Physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise. Then there are attacks on the judiciary in the media, particularly social media. These attacks appear to be sponsored and synchronized,” the CJI said while addressing Constitution Day function here.
“The law enforcing agencies, particularly the central agencies, need to deal with such malicious attacks effectively. The governments are expected to create a secure environment so that the judges and judicial officers can function fearlessly,” Justice Ramana said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Calling for “Indianisation of the judiciary”, Justice Ramana said, “The judicial system, as it exists in our country today, is essentially still colonial in nature. It takes no account of the social realities or the local conditions.”
Supreme Court Bar Association president Vikas Singh demanded a suitable legislation to regulate the Collegium system to facilitate the appointment of judges to high courts and the Supreme Court.
“The Bill should provide a permanent secretariat both at the High Court and Supreme Court level, to assist them in the matter of appointment of judges as the members of the Collegiums both at the Supreme Court as well as the High Courts, being senior judges of their respective court do not have enough spare time for this onerous responsibility,” Singh said, adding “I have already drafted such a Bill in my individual capacity and have given the same to the Hon’ble Law Minister in my first meeting with him”.
Attorney General KK Venugopal said a system of courts of appeal between the Supreme Court and high courts should be created and the Supreme Court should be transformed into a truly constitutional court.
