Judiciary only intervenes when governments fail: Chief Justice Thakur

Judiciary is not interested in interfering in the affairs of the executive and it comes into picture only when people approach the courts after getting frustrated with the inaction of the governments, Chief Justice of India T S Thakur has said.

"The courts only fulfill their constitutional duty," he told ETV channel, according to a release from the television channel here.

The CJI said "85 percent of the citizens" knock the doors of the courts only when they are "disappointed" by the governments. "We only fulfill our duties as laid down by the constitution. If the governments do their job better, any need of interference would not arise," he said.

His remarks come amid an ongoing tussle between the government and the judiciary.

The two years of the Narendra Modi government has often seen acrimonious relationship between the government and the judiciary.

The most scathing attack from the government on the judiciary came last month in the Rajya Sabha, when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had claimed that: "Step by step, brick by brick, the edifice of India's legislature is being destroyed."

Jaitley, also a senior lawyer himself, was commenting on the Supreme Court judgement wherein it had issued guidelines for disaster/drought management.

"We have the National Disaster Response Fund and the State Disaster Response Fund and now we are being asked to create a third fund. The appropriation bill is being passed. Now outside this appropriation bill, we are being told to create this fund. How will I do that? India's budget-making is being subject to judicial review," he had said.

According to ETV communique, the chief justice had also said that "the government should do their job instead of hurling accusations".

He also cautioned that if the number of judges is not increased immediately, the situation may go out of control any time, while the number of litigations would cross over 5 crores in the next 10 years.

"I have requested the Prime Minister on several occasions and sending a report on the same issue to the centre too," the CJI said.

--IANS

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