The Appellate Division on Sunday expressed its annoyance over removal of the clause stipulating the High Court Division’s authority and control on subordinate court judges from the law ministry’s fresh draft disciplinary rules.
At Sunday’s hearing on the matter, Chief Justice SK Sinha told attorney general Mahbubey Alam that the fresh draft rules was a ‘U turn’ on agreed issues relating to the lower court judges’ disciplinary rules.
The Chief Justice said that the fresh draft submitted by law minister Anisul Huq did not reflect what they had agreed upon at their discussions.
All the six judges of the apex court attending the hearing requested the attorney general to tell the law minister that they would be available throughout Wednesday and Thursday even on the nights to discuss the matter with him.
The bench said that the rules for the subordinate court judges could not be left in the ‘deep fridge’ any more as the rules remained elusive over the last 16 years.
The bench asked the attorney general to attend the meeting in which the law minister would be free to bring drafting experts of his liking.
The hearing was adjourned until Sunday.
On Thursday, law minister Anis submitted to the Chief Justice the fresh draft of disciplinary rules for the lower court judges instead of publishing in the official gazette, law ministry’s draft of May 2015, modified by the Appellate Division in August 28, 2015.
The law ministry’s persistent refusal to notify the rules for the lower court judges over the past year, even after taking time 20 times irritated the apex court.
Lawyers said that the government, represented by the law ministry, was reluctant to relinquish the control on lower court to the Supreme Court without which there could be no separation of the judiciary.
In May 2015, the government had drafted the Judicial Service (Discipline) Rules to comply with the directives issued by the Appellate Division in 1999.
The very existence of the High Court Division becomes unnecessary if its power to supervise and control the subordinate court judges, as enshrined in the Constitution, is taken away, the bench said at Sunday’s hearing.
‘In that case why not abolish the High Court Division,’ the Chief Justice, unable to hide his disgust over the government’s foot dragging, told the attorney general.
The Chief Justice also expressed his annoyance over the fresh draft rules omitting the suo moto powers of the Chief Justice and all the other Supreme Court judges to initiate proceedings against any lower court judge for their irregularities.
The Chief Justice took serious exception to the fresh draft calling the law ministry as the local controlling authority for the judiciary and the other anomalous provisions.
He asked how the law ministry could be the superior authority for the judiciary when the chiefs of army, navy and the police could draw proceedings against their officers as their superior authorities.
The Chief Justice called the fresh draft’s provision empowering the law ministry to attach lower court judges under investigation as ‘dangerous’.
Source: New Age
