About 40% of posts were lying vacant at the Supreme Court and the High Courts across the country and the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges was yet to be implemented, said former Judge of Madras High Court D. Hariparanthaman, while speaking at the 14th conference of People’s Rights Protection Centre here on Saturday.
The government was interfering with the judiciary and when this was raised time and again the issue had not been addressed seriously, he alleged.
Journalist B.M.S. Rahman said human rights across the country was crumbling and freedom of speech and expression had taken a hit. He raised his concern over the impact of commercialisation of news and added with sarcasm that the fourth estate had “become real estate.”
Advocate S. Vanchinathan, State coordinator, criticised the Chief Minister for not visiting the cyclone-hit areas in Kanniyakumari. President of the centre A. Srinivasan accused the Centre of not paying heed to the struggles of Tamil Nadu farmers. The conference felt that various projects implemented in Tamil Nadu by the Centre were turning against people.
