Rajya Sabha passes judges Bill; Opposition raises ordinance route, diversity deficit

As Tankha began raising the issue of the Supreme Court judgment on the abrogation of Article 370, Deputy Chairman Harivansh reminded him to stick to the Bill. Harivansh then called on the next speaker, leading to protests by Opposition MPs, stressing that Tankha be allowed to speak. The Congress MPs then walked out in protest. Later, other Opposition MPs too staged a walkout. Several Opposition MPs raised the issue of lack of adequate representation of SC, ST, minority and vulnerable groups in the judiciary, while many MPs demanded regional benches of the top court be set up in their respective states.

TMC MP and Senior Advocate in the Supreme Court, Menaka Guruswamy, said the Bill doesn’t address the problems of the judiciary. “The problems are that the Central government will not appoint women to the judiciary, they will not appoint lower castes to the judiciary, they will not appoint religious minorities to the judiciary, they will not appoint gay people to the judiciary.”

P Wilson of the DMK said access to justice should be made easily available. He demanded that a Bench of the top court be established in Chennai. “There is a diversity deficit in the High Courts and Supreme Court.”

Earlier this year, in reply to a question by Wilson, the Law Ministry provided data that showed that out of the 593 judges appointed to the Supreme Court and High Courts from January 1, 2021, to January 30 this year, 26 were from SCs, 14 were from STs, 80 from OBCs and 37 from minorities. In total, 96 women were appointed to High Courts.

Several MPs also raised the demand for increasing judges’ strength in the district courts.

National Conference MP Chowdry Mohammad Ramzan said it would have been better had the government brought a Bill to increase the strength of judges in the lower courts, where crores of cases are pending.

AAP’s Sanjay Singh questioned the government over the lack of representation of vulnerable groups in the judiciary. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Centre notifies the appointments, but the recommendations come from the Supreme Court Collegium.

JMM MP Mahua Maji asked whether the judiciary’s issues would be addressed by increasing the strength of the Supreme Court judges, saying that 5.07 crore people were waiting for justice in courts across India.

Replying to the discussion, Meghwal said the four new judges would enable the court to set up dedicated benches to hear long-pending cases. He said the availability of judges had increased from about 16 per 1 million of population in 2014 to 22 now. He said it was the responsibility of the respective High Courts and state governments to fill vacancies in the subordinate courts.

Earlier in the day, proceedings of the Upper House were disrupted as Opposition leaders continued to demand answers from Union Home Minister Amit Shah for police action on student protesters. When the House convened at 11 am, papers were laid amid protests by the Opposition MPs, raising slogans, “Home Minister, sadan mein aao”.

However, continuing with the business, Chairman C P Radhakrishnan called BJP MP from J&K Sat Paul Sharma to speak. “On August 5, 2019, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Article 370 was abolished, and Jammu and Kashmir got a new identity… J&K was brought into the mainstream,” Sharma said.

Outside Makar Dwar, Rajya Sabha MPs Ramzan Chowdhary, Sajjad Kichloo and Shammi Oberoi joined INDIA Bloc leaders to demand immediate restoration of full statehood to J&K. As sloganeering continued, Radhakrishnan read out Rule 235, warning action against the MPs: “I will take action against you… don’t force me to do that.”

Meanwhile, AIADMK MP M Thambi Durai urged the government to consider changing the name of the Madras High Court to the High Court of Tamil Nadu, stating it is the aspiration of the state’s people. Madras stopped being the name of the state capital three decades ago, he said.

The House was adjourned till 12 noon after Opposition MPs continued to raise slogans. As soon as the House reconvened at noon, Radhakrishnan advised members not to enter the Well of the House and never show placards, failing which he would be forced to take action. “These two things you have to follow. If any member is not following these two instructions… I will be forced to take action,” he said, and took up the Question Hour.

However, the Opposition parties continued to raise slogans in support of their demand. The Chair adjourned the House till 2 pm. During Question Hour, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the House that India records 1.80 lakh road accident deaths annually. Responding to queries amid Opposition protests, he emphasised that human behaviour and driver training remain major factors behind the crashes.