In a written reply in Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Department of Justice receives complaints about sitting as well as retired judges, but it is only concerned with the appointment and service conditions of the sitting judges alone.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 7, 2023 15:23 IST
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju (File photo)
By Kanu Sarda: Following his remarks that some retired judges are part of an anti-India gang for their statements in the public domain, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Department of Justice does receive complaints about sitting as well as retired judges, but it is only concerned with the appointment and service conditions of the sitting judges alone.
The minister gave his statement in a written reply in Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session that ended on Thursday.
Last month, at the India Today Conclave 2023, Kiren Rijiju spoke about some retired judges being a part of the anti-India gang.
He had said, “It is a few of the retired judges, few — maybe three or four — few of those activists, part of that anti-India gang. These people are trying to make the Indian judiciary play the role of opposition party. Some people even go to court and say that and please rein in the government, please change the policy of the government.”
The comments by the law minister came in the wake of statements made by some senior advocates and retired judges at a seminar organised by Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms on ‘Principles and Framework for Judicial Appointments’.
“Some senior advocates and retired judges spoke at the event. The topic of the seminar was accountability in judicial appointments. But the discussion centered on how the government was taking over the judiciary,” Rijju said.
The written reply came to a question by Samajwadi Party (SP) member Javed Ali Khan and Janata Dal-United’s (JDU) Ram Nath Thakur on whether a few former judges of the Supreme Court are part of an anti-India gang.
ALSO READ | Sign of authoritarianism, say ex-bureaucrats in letter to Kiren Rijiju over his remarks on judiciary
“From time to time, complaints are received by the Department of Justice against sitting as well as retired judges of the Supreme Court and high courts. The Department of Justice is concerned only with the appointment and service conditions of the sitting judges of the Supreme Court and high courts,” Rijiju said in Parliament.
The minister explained the in-house mechanism in the higher judiciary in case a complaint is received and said, “The Supreme Court in its full court meeting on May 7, 1997, adopted two resolutions — one dealing with restatement of values of judicial life and the other with in-house procedure for taking suitable remedial action against judges who do not follow universally accepted values of judicial life.”
ALSO READ | Law minister Kiren Rijiju on constitutional democracy | Drawing the line
According to the established in-house mechanism for the higher judiciary, the Chief Justice of India is competent to receive complaints against the conduct of judges of the Supreme Court and the chief justices of the high courts. Likewise, the chief justices of the high courts are competent to receive complaints against the conduct of high court judges.
“The complaints/representations received by the Department of Justice are forwarded to the Chief Justice of India or to the chief justice of the high courts concerned, as the case may be, for appropriate action,” he added.
ALSO WATCH | Conclave 2023 | Kiren Rijiju speaks on Justice for All: The endeavour and the gap
