Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday received backlash from opposition leaders over his earlier remark on the Supreme Court hearing bail pleas when the pendency of cases is high. On Wednesday, Rijiju had told Rajya Sabha that a constitutional body like Supreme Court should not be hearing “bail applications and frivolous PILs’’ at a time when the pendency of cases is so high. He was speaking on the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill-2022.
“I have made certain remarks in a good gesture to the Supreme Court of India that you take up those cases which are relevant. If Supreme Court starts hearing bail applications or frivolous PILs, it will cause lots of extra burden,” Rijiju had said on Wednesday.
Reiterating his comment, Rijiju on Thursday told Rajya Sabha that the total number of cases pending in various courts is about to touch five crores. He observed that the impact of such a huge pendency of court cases on the public is obvious.
Defending the Arbitration Amendment Bill, Rijiju said, “It is not under any international pressure but it is the situation, the emergent situation, which compelled the government to take a decision.”
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal lashed out at Rijiju’s remarks and questioned if he even knows the meaning of the word “liberty.” Congress leader Manish Tewari also slammed Rijiju for his remarks. “Kiren Rijiju perhaps has never read Justice Krishna Aiyer’s seminal treatise-bail, not jail is the rule. How else can a law Minister say SC should not hear bail pleas,” Tewari tweeted.
Obviously Law Minister @KirenRijiju had other pressing preoccupations in Law School other than Law.He perhaps has never read Justice Krishna Aiyer’s seminal treatise-bail not jail is the ruleHow else can a law Minister say SC should not hear bail pleas https://t.co/XCmYbQTWSO— Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) December 15, 2022
Congress leader and senior advocate Salman Khurshid also opposed Rijiju’s stance and said, “Forget NJAC, Govt wants to micromanage judiciary: cut vacations, no priority to bail, et al. What next?”
On Thursday, Rijiju told Rajya Sabha that the issue of vacancies and appointments in the higher judiciary would continue to linger till such time a new system is created for the same. Replying to questions in the Upper House of Parliament, the law minister said the Centre has limited powers over the appointments of judges.
The minister pointed out that the Centre has taken various measures to reduce the pendency of cases.
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