For the first time in the history of independent India, an impeachment motion against the Chief Justice of India was moved. Vice President and ex-officio chairman of Rajya Sabha quickly rejected the motion. But the step has failed to hush down the controversy. The ongoing controversy may snowball into a major crisis if we continue to raise accusing fingers towards the judiciary, as for the survival and strengthening of democracy an independent judiciary is a must. Any attempts to weaken it should be dealt with firmly.
The onus of having an independent judiciary lies with both our legislators and the judiciary itself. Political interference in the judicial system should be stopped. Similarly, the judiciary should conduct itself in such a manner so that the message of it being independent and impartial should be loud and clear. Unfortunately, Indian democracy is lacking on both counts. Our political rulers’ efforts to manage the judiciary are rampant and at the same time the conduct of judiciary is also not up to the mark. For example, it is not uncommon of judicial officers being transferred if he or she is not in the good books of the ruling class. Often indirect pressures are applied on the judges to pronounce a favourable judgement to please the ruling elites. Likely, the judiciary has often shown signs of cracking under pressure. The very latest example is the PIL filed demanding an inquiry to the mysterious death Justice B. H. Loya, who was handling the politically sensitive case on the infamous Sohrabuddin encounter. Some questions have been raised about the sudden demise of the judge. In such a scenario, the wise move was to reopen the case and start a fresh inquiry so that every doubt is settled for both sides. But a three judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice ruled out any fresh inquiry to unravel the mystery surrounding Justice Loya’s death. The bench termed the death as natural and asked the petitioners not to misuse the power given to the people through PIL. With this judgement, the ruling party may be happy, but for a large number of people it has only raised their suspicions. It may become a reality that if the ruling party fail to recapture power in the 2019 general elections, a fresh PIL may be filed to reopen the case and depending on the will of the government of the day an order may be issued. Such suspicions regarding the judiciary should be answered immediately to re-establish the credentials of judiciary.
We know the task is not easy. There is no place of values in Indian system any more. Such a trend is dangerous if we want to live in a democratic set up. Some may say that democracy has done more harm than good for the country, but they should realise the fact that India cannot remain intact without a democratic set up. Such a vast country with huge diversity cannot be ruled by an autocrat. So for our survival and best interests we must demand independence and neutrality for all our democratic institutions.
