Modi skips judges' appointment in address, upsets CJI

Chief Justice of India T S Thakur on Monday expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi making no reference to the stalled judicial appointments in his speech on Independence Day.

“Today, we heard our popular prime minister for 90 minutes... I was hoping he (Modi) will speak about issues plaguing the justice delivery system. However, he did not. I request the government to pay attention to our judiciary, especially the appointment of judges,” the CJI said.

“You should remove poverty, please do it; give people employment, work for the unity of the country...there are many schemes for it, but also think about delivering justice to the people of the country,” JusticeThakur said, speaking at the Independence Day function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association.

Days after threatening the government with judicial interference if it delayed appointing judges, Justice Thakur said he heard the prime minister’s speech and



also the law minister, but they said nothing about the appointment of judges.

“During the British era, a case could be decided in 10 years, that is not happening now. The number of cases has risen so much and the people’s expectations have also grown much. It has become very difficult now. Now, even 100 years is not enough to decide cases. That’s why I have repeatedly requested the government to pay attention to the appointment of judges,” he said.

Without mincing words, the CJI said, “I think I have reached the peak of my career, so I don’t hesitate in saying what I feel.”

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, however, said the government would go ahead with the appointment of judges irrespective of whether the new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) was in place or not. The Union government is yet to finalise the MoP, the guidelines for appointment of judges, following the judiciary’s objections over certain points.