Executive interference behind revolt?

New Delhi: The stunning mutiny against the Chief Justice of India in Supreme Court has yet again given rise the perception of “excess government interference” in  judiciary. While the government  decided to maintaina stoic silence four senior judges of the Supreme Court mounting a virtual revolt against the Chief Justice of India cautioned that what happening in the judiciary could “destroy Indian democracy.”

It may be recalled that judiciary and the government had virtually crossed swords when the former CJI, Tirath Singh Thakur accused the Centre for stalling appointment of judges to the high courts. He had gone on record saying; “What was the point of ‘Make  in India’ and inviting foreign direct investments when investors are increasingly doubtful  about the timely delivery of justice.” What the top four Supreme Court judges found worrisome was the manner in which some critical cases were being allocated to selective benches. “There have been instances where  cases having far reaching consequences for the nation and the institution have been  assigned by the chief justices of this court selectively to the benches ‘of their preference’  without any rationale basis for such assignment,” the judges said. The Opposition parties, without directly accusing the CJI felt that “this was due to governmetn interference.” The sudden death of  Mumbai judge, B.H.Loya, who was handling the CBI’s case of murder against BJP president Amit Shah in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter, was raised by the rebel judges. It may be recalled that in 2016 controversy had erupted when the government had  returned 43 out of 77 names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for the  appointment of judges in high courts.

There were allegations on how the Congress in the 1970s and 1980s tried to subvert the independence of  the judiciary by controlling appointment and transfers of judges. The  Opposition at that juncture had accused the Congress of  launching an assault on the  independence of judiciary. One can recall the the mass transfer of 16 high court judges  during Emergency in 1976.

Immediately after the NDA government came to power in 2014, a controversy erupted when senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium’s appointment as a SC judge was allegedly scuttled. It may be recalled that as amicus, Mr Subramanium had assisted in the investigation of the Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case, leading to BJP chief Amit   Shah’s arrest. Though the collegium had the power of re-nominating Subramanium, in  which case the government was bound to accept it, he withdrew his consent, citing  government’s malafide intent.