Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Saturday said that the decisions rendered by courts are often not implemented by the Government for years together leading to contempt petitions piling up in the courts. He also pointed out that the Government is the biggest litigant accounting for more than 56 per cent of the cases and such defiance by it is overburdening the judiciary.
He said the Constitution provides separation of power among the three organs of the State and while discharging duty, one should be mindful of “Lakshman Rekha”. The CJI said deliberate inaction by Governments despite judicial pronouncements is not good for the health of democracy.
The CJI was speaking at the joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Law Ministers from across the country. “Decisions by the court are often not implemented by Governments for years together which lead to contempt petition which is a new burden on the court which is a direct result of defiance by the Government,” said CJI Ramana.
The CJI also highlighted the lack of procedural fairness when it comes to arresting individuals and probing cases. The key to good governance is “abiding by law and Constitution”, and if the police probes are conducted in a just manner, and illegal arrest and custodial torture comes to an end, the number of cases would drastically decrease.
“However this is often ignored and opinions of the Law Department is not sought in the rush to implement executive decisions. The role of special and Government pleaders in court needs urgent remedy,” he said.
Criticising the misuse of PIL to settle scores, the CJI said, “The rising number of frivolous litigations is an area of concern. For example, the well-meaning concept of public interest litigation is at times turning into personal interest litigation. No doubt, PIL has served a lot of public interest. However, it is sometimes being misused to stall projects or pressurise public authorities.
These days PIL has become a tool for someone who wants to settle a score or a political rivalry. Realising the potential of misuse, courts are circumspect in entertaining the same,” the CJI said.
The CJI also highlighted the issue of pendency of cases. “Due to paucity of time, I cannot explain the same in detail. But a keen look at the websites of the courts will give you an idea about the huge workload on judges. The number of cases filed and disposed on each day is unimaginable,” said the CJI.