Independent or inter-dependent Judiciary in India
Kunal Jadoun
S. S. Jain Subodh Law College, Shipra Path, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
This blog is written by Kunal Jadoun, a Fourth-Year Law Student of S. S. Jain Subodh Law College, Shipra Path, Mansarovar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
Introduction:
This blog starts with the basic question ‘Independent or inter-dependent Judiciary in India?’ In this blog, I will answer this basic question with a few more basic questions. At the end of the blog, we will get answers to all the questions raised. This blog will be an interactive two-way blog in which there will be a few questions that will be answered in this blog only. The questions will be asked and answered in a more intriguing way to keep the readers engaged.
What is an Independent Judiciary?
Independent Judiciary is of the modern origin and this concept is the fundamental feature of a liberal democracy. Independence of the Judiciary is not defined in the Indian Constitution and not even in the General Clauses Act. The term independence of the judiciary refers to the judiciary’s lack of influence from legislative and executive acts. Among the fundamental characteristics of an independent judiciary are judicial review and the rule of law.
The Legislature and the Executive cannot subordinate the judiciary to any other branch. To have an independent judiciary, judges must act independently and without any interference from their superiors when performing their duties.
Why is having an independent Judiciary crucial?
An independent Judiciary is essential to both federal and democratic nations. The nation’s independent judiciary ensures that all other branches of government are functioning efficiently. It interprets the country’s constitution and in certain cases, the legislation, and directives from the legislative and executive branches, respectively.
Moreover, it resolves disputes between two or more state governments as well as between the federal government and state government. Additionally, it settles disagreements between clauses, sections, and provisions of any statute or article.
What makes the Judiciary Independent?
The Judiciary’s unfettered powers and jurisdiction, stable tenure, fixed salary and benefits, power of judicial review, rule of law, and the power to punish for contempt of court are some of the characteristics that define its independence. Other than that, no motion can be passed in the legislature against the conduct of judges without serving prior notice, and the selection of judges is separated from the executive domain are additionally a few essential features of Judicial independence.
Is the Indian Judiciary independent?
Now we will see the application of all the components that we studied above, in the Indian Constitution. Let’s see if the judges’ tenure is secured or not. As per the Indian Constitution, judges enjoy a secured tenure which is 62 years for the High Court Judges and 65 years for the Supreme Court Judges.
Also, the salary of Judges is not fixed by the legislature of India but the salary of Supreme Court Judges is charged from the Consolidated Funds of India and the salary of High Court Judges is charged from the Consolidated Funds of States.
Parliament cannot make changes (reduction) in the powers and Jurisdiction of the Judiciary but it can make changes (increase or expansion) in the powers and Jurisdiction of the Judiciary. Parliament can enhance the appellate jurisdiction of the Judiciary. Article 211 of the Indian Constitution mentions that there shall be no discussion in the legislature on the conduct of the judges of the Supreme Court or the High Court while exercising their judicial functions.
Supreme Court punishes the offenders of contempt of court under Article 129 and the High Court punishes the offenders under Article 215. There is also the separation of the Executive from the Judiciary in the Indian Constitution mentioned under Article 50.
Also, the Supreme Court and High Court enjoy the power of judicial review. There is also a Rule of Law in article 13 of the Indian Constitution.
How & when independent Judiciary becomes inter-dependent?
Even though the Indian judiciary enjoys the features of an independent judiciary still there are instances in Indian history where there were clear attacks on the independence of the judiciary. One of the instances was of the emergency when Justice AN Ray was declared the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after superseding other senior judges by the Indira Gandhi-led government. During emergencies, the gates of the Supreme Court and High Court get closed for the ordinary citizens of the country demanding justice.
Appointment of the judges of the Supreme Court and High Court by the President shows that there is an indirect role of the Executive in the build-up of the Judiciary. Also, the appointment procedure is not transparent and all of this shows the interference of the Executive organ in the functioning of the Judiciary.
The influence of Political Parties and the influence of the dominating nature of powerful entities can also be seen in the functioning of the Judiciary in India.
Conclusion:
Although, the CJI and other judges are appointed by the President still he or she must keep in mind the basic qualification criteria for the appointment of judges and he or she must consult the CJI in the appointment of Supreme Court judges and CJI, Governor and CJ of states in the appointment of High Court judges. Even the President must appoint one judge of the Supreme Court or the High Court who is suggested by the Collegium system and while appointing the CJI, he or she must appoint the CJI as per the seniority of the Judges.
After getting answers to all the questions in our blog, we can conclude that the Indian Judiciary enjoys independence from any type of unnecessary Executive and Legislative interference. Even though it faces so many attacks during emergencies and attacks from political parties, it still manages to be independent in nature and functioning.
References:
· https://blog.ipleaders.in/what-is-an-independent-judiciary/.
· https://unacademy.com/content/bpsc/study-material/polity/integrated-and-independent-judiciary/.