Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Monday that the Centre’s intention on appointment of the next Chief Justice of India (CJI) should not be doubted as the sitting CJI had to forward the name of his successor.
“As far as the appointment of the next Chief Justice of India is concerned, as per the convention the sitting Chief Justice of India sends the name of the senior-most judge to us. As and when we get the name, we will discuss it,” Mr. Prasad said.
“However, there is no reason to doubt our intention,” he said at a press conference held here to highlight the achievements of the Ministry of Law and Justice in the past 48 months.
The Minister’s comment came in response to a question whether the government would follow the convention and appoint the next senior-most judge, Justice Ranjan Gogoi, as the CJI when Justice Dipak Misra retires on October 2.
Justice Gogoi was among the four SC judges who had in January questioned the Chief Justice of India on allotment of sensitive cases by holding an unprecedented press conference.
Mr. Prasad also refuted a claim that appointment of judges has been slow because of the differences between the government and the judiciary over the issue of memorandum of procedure.
He said that between April 2015 and May 2018, 18 judges were appointed in the Supreme Court; 331 judges and 313 additional judges were appointed and made permanent in the high courts.
Asked whether the government will take the ordinance route to clear the bill on triple talaq, which is yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Prasad said the government remains committed to enacting the law.
As the issue was about gender justice, he urged women leaders to go beyond the political divide to bring in the law.
“I appeal to Sonia Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Mayawati. They are influential women,” he said.
Responding to another question on the delay in finalising the memorandum of procedure for appointment of judges, he said discussions were on and the Supreme Court and the government would have to finalise the document together.
He also pointed out that the government has taken the initiative to repeal 1,428 old and obsolete Acts. Further there has been substantial rise in fast-track courts, which deal mostly with cases related to crimes against women, children and the elderly, from 281 in March 2014 to 717 as on March this year, he added.
