Judicial activism comes in for RS flak

E M Sudarsana Natchiappan of the Congress charged that the judiciary often attempts to usurp the power of legislature and regretted that Parliament is not paying attention to it. That,he said,was largely owing to the fact that the Executive was not doing its job,giving courts the occasion to intervene and issue notices on every other matter from roads to water supply. Raising objections against the system of appointment of judges,he said there were allegations that the collegium often selects relatives for top posts.

RJD’s Rajniti Prasad expressed anguish over the judiciary taking over responsibilities of the legislature and executive. Resenting that MPs were attacked over “small mistakes”,he demanded some law to protect them.

SP’s Ram Gopal Yadav said though he did not want to criticise the judiciary,the situation was so bad there was even talk about how particular lawyers should be engaged if a case was before a certain judge to ensure a favourable decision. However,Law Minister Veerappa Moily intervened and reminded that decorum must be maintained while referring to institutions like the Supreme Court.

BSP’s Ganga Charan said people had taken recourse to the Judiciary and the latter had become pro-active owing to the loss of confidence in the Parliament and Executive.