Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi is all for transparency in judicial appointments and wants a ‘multi-pronged’ approach to curb pendency of cases in courts.
Speaking to mediapersons shortly after taking over as the 14th Attorney General, Rohatgi favoured the Bill proposed by Government to replace the collegium system with the National Judicial Appointments Commission but differed with the recent suggestion given by CJI RM lodha to keep Courts open throughout the year.
“It is a well-meaning suggestion. But it is not practical,” Rohatgi said, hinting at other innovative methods to be devised towards bringing down pendency. He agreed there was need to end long vacations in higher courts but at the same time suggested that the culture of having lengthy arguments in higher courts must end. “The Supreme Court has lost its significance as the Constitutional court. The framers of the Constitution had envisaged it to be the highest court of the land that will interpret grey areas of law,” Rohatgi said.
Finding this to be far from the ground reality, he said, “These days, appeals of income tax assessment and from tribunals like National Green Tribunal and Armed Forces Tribunal abound in Supreme Court,” adding that the apex court was not equipped to handle this pressure.
On judicial appointments too, Rohatgi believed that time was due for a new experiment. Backing the proposal of the Government to replace collegium system with a broad-based Judicial Commission, Rohatgi said, “If transparency is an important principle in executive decision making, then why should it not apply to appointment of Judges.” He said for 40 years it was the government that was appointing the judges and then for 20 years collegium system remained in operation. Now there is a need to have “another experiment”.
Rohatgi agreed that in lower courts too, pendency of cases required renewed strategy. Citing the instance of cheque bouncing cases, he said, “lakhs of such cases keep piling in criminal courts. The aggrieved party still has to file a civil suit to recover the dues. This results in parallel proceedings, which clogs judicial work.” He wondered why one judicial officer could not hear both criminal and civil cases arising from cheque bouncing offences.
He hinted at a multi-pronged strategy that included weeding out redundant and lengthy procedural laws, curtailing litigant’s right to appeal to the apex court on petty disputes and more importantly to curtail length of arguments. Rohatgi, who was ASG during the previous NDA regime, is a top-billing corporate lawyer, known for his crisp arguments.
As Attorney General, Rohatgi said he will make efforts to change mind set of bureaucrats who are in the habit of leaving all decisions to court. “This attitude has to change and there is need to shake every part of the judicial functioning and redundant laws and procedures in criminal laws,” he added.