No one can meddle in judges' appointment, says Indian president

New Delhi - Pranab Mukherjee asks judiciary to reinvent itself through self-correction.

Irrespective of system of judges' appointment, the process must operate on "well-established and transparent principles to select the best" and no one can meddle with it, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said while asking the judiciary to "reinvent itself through introspection and self-correction".
The statement, made in the backdrop of the historic apex court verdict quashing the National Judicial Appointment Commission Act (NJAC), assumes significance as the president said that the judiciary is "autonomous" and a vital feature of democracy.
"...The appointment process must conform to the highest standards of probity. Whichever system of appointment we follow, it must operate on well-established and transparent principles to select the best.
"No one can meddle in the process. An autonomous judiciary is a vital feature of democracy. Yet being an important pillar of democracy, it must reinvent itself through introspection and self-correction, as and when necessary," the president said while inaugurating the golden jubilee celebrations of the High Court of Delhi at Vigyan Bhawan here.
Mukherjee also said that there was the need for quick justice delivery system which should be "accessible" and "affordable" to all.
"Delay in administering justice is as good as denial. There are over 60,000 court cases pending in the apex court, another over 4,000,000 pending in the high courts, and over 26 million in the district and subordinate courts. The phenomenon of high pendency must change through multi-dimensional effort.
"Courts must have enough resources to boost their infrastructure. Vacancies in judicial positions must be filled up on priority. Having said that, expeditious selection must be no ground for sacrifice on quality," he said. The president also hailed the Delhi High Court for its efforts in witness protection scheme, e-filing and adopting mediation and conciliation as tools for alternate dispute resolution mechanism.
He also lauded the theme 'Justice for all' of the year-long golden jubilee celebration and said that the common law principle of 'locus standi' has been enlarged by the judiciary to broaden the scope of justice.
Besides the president, Chief Justice of India H L Dattu, Delhi High Court Chief Justice G Rohini, Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also spoke at the function.
The president dealt with the advent of public interest litigation and said, "In the support of rights, courts have found a post card or newspaper article to be material enough to set-off judicial action. This has helped to bring justice closer to the common man." - PTI

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