‘Plan to interfere with judiciary’: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee targets Centre’s letter

Referring to the Union Law Ministry’s recent “suggestion” that a nominee of the government should be included in the collegium that makes recommendations for the appointment of judges, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said this move, if implemented, would mean that the “Centre will directly interfere with the judiciary.”

She added, “This planning by the Centre has been going on for a long time. Already, we have seen that whatever names are being sent by the Calcutta High Court, if some judge favours the Central government or is their supporter, that name is cleared within a month. And those who aren’t their supporters, their list is pending for three years.”

Read in Explained | Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s suggestion to CJI DY Chandrachud on appointment of judges: The context and background, explained

Union Minister for Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju wrote to the Chief Justice of India offering the suggestion on nominee since the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is “pending finalisation”.

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Banerjee was speaking to mediapersons at Bagdogra airport in Siliguri.

She said, “A mockery is going on at the hands of many agencies. Democracy is in peril. We trust and have absolute confidence in our judiciary and we believe that no one should interfere with the judiciary. Judiciary is an important temple for us. It is like mandir, masjid, gurdwara, church. It is the supreme authority for delivering justice to the people.”