Ravi Shankar Prasad: Some of Ex. CJI T S Thakur’s comments were clearly avoidable

January,4,2017:

There was no occassion for CJI to castigate our Government on judicial appointments on Independence Day, said Law Min.

A day before CJI TS Thakur is to retire, Union Minister for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad said here today that some of Thakur’s comments as Chief Justice were avoidable.

He also mentioned that in spite of a “whisper campaign,” there wasn't any doubt about Justice JS Khehar succeeding Justice TS Thakur.

Prasad said that his govt. has the highest regard for TS Thakur but public observations by him were avoidable.

The Law & Justice minister said that he was present at the Apex Court’s Independence Day function at which TS Thakur lamented our govt. on judicial appointments. Justice Thakur had expressed his disappointment with PM Modi’s speech on Independence Day,by saying that he heard the popular PM for 1 & 1/2 hours and expected mention about justice & appointment of judges too.

RS Prasad said that no one has ever heard of the Prime Minister talking about judicial appointments in such an address from the embankment of Red Fort. RS Prasad said that his govt. didn't react then & he wanted to make this observation when he wished TS Thakur good luck as he's completing his term .

Prasad also discussed that his govt’s commitment to independence of judiciary is complete the debate around the .

Prasad said the essence of the Apex Court’s argument was that as the Law Minister is part of the NJAC (National Judicial Appointments Commission), so, if any judge is appointed of that process, then a litigant having a case against the government” may have doubts about the fairness of the procedure.

There are 5,000 vacancies in the subordinate Judiciary in which the govt. has absolutely no role to play, Prasad said.