National Law Day: Modi bats for independent judiciary, his minister, CJI spar over the issue

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the three arms of the government – legislature, judiciary and executive – should not interfere in each other’s functioning.

Addressing an event in Delhi on the occasion of National Law Day, Modi said, “Legislature should have the independence of making laws, the executive should have independence in taking decisions and Supreme Court should have the independence of interpreting the constitution.”

However, the Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also present at the event, expressing his angst over the annulment of NJAC sparred with Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra saying, “if the PM and law minister cannot be trusted with appointment of judges it’s a huge question and judiciary and polity of his country will have to look into it.”

The CJI quickly rebutted the charges saying the Judiciary never dis-respected the Law Ministry and all its suggestions were taken with mutual respect.

Misra said, “There should be no battle for supremacy among the three wings and that we are bound by the principle of constitutional sovereignty.”