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Manmohan Singh calls for exacting standards in judicial appointments

Staff Reporter

— Photo: PTI

PIL pioneer: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presents a copy of the book, ‘Judicial Reflections of Justice Bhagwati’ by Ramkishore Choudhury and Tapash Gan Choudhury (centre) to Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan at a function in New Delhi on Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said it was time for introspection to ensure that judicial appointments at all levels “live up to the exacting standards we associate with the name of Justice Bhagwati.”

He was speaking at the release of the book “Judicial Reflections of Justice Bhagwati” by Ram Kishore Choudhury and Tapash Gan Choudhury at Vigyan Bhavan here.

“We have a large unfinished agenda to reduce the cost of litigation, the magnitude of long pending cases in our courts and to ensure accessibility of the justice system to the poor and marginalised sections of our population,” said Dr. Singh.

He said the Union government had asked the State governments to increase the number of judicial officers at the district and subordinate levels.

“I recognise that apart from increasing the number of judicial functionaries, we must upgrade existing infrastructure. I also urge those responsible for maintenance of court premises to take steps that restore to the judiciary the majesty we would like our people to associate with it,” said the Prime Minister.

The function was attended by the former Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati, Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Union Home Minister Shivraj V. Patil, Law Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj, Minister for Science and Technology and Oceanography Kapil Sibal and Solicitor-General Goolam E. Vahanvati.

Stating that he was delighted to release the book as a token of his admiration, respect and affection for an elder brother, Dr. Singh observed: “Justice Bhagwati pioneered the concept of public interest litigation and this instrument of legal empowerment has left a deep imprint on our legal process and on the processes of social change and political empowerment in our country.”

Pat for authors

Congratulating the authors, Mr. Chidambaram said: “The book is not a biography but tells you more about the former Chief Justice of India because it is an analyses of the judgments that he has delivered. I believe that through each judgment a judge bares his soul and this book, I am sure, will become a text book or become a must read for law students.”

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