Ram Madhav dismisses allegations of govt trampling on judicial independence

Dismissing allegations of government trampling on the independence of judiciary, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav today said both the executive as well as the judiciary are working within "their limits".

"Not true, not true," he told PTI, when asked about allegations of the government intruding into judiciary's territory by showing reluctance to elevate Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the Supreme Court.

"The judiciary has its own prerogatives, the government has its own prerogatives. Both are (working) within their limits," Madhav said, adding Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has already made the government's position "very clear" on the matter.

When asked about a likely scenario where Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra-led collegium of the Supreme Court reiterates its stance and presses for justice Joseph's elevation, Madhav declined to answer saying it was a hypothetical question.

In January, the five-member collegium had recommended the names of justice Joseph and then senior advocate Indu Malhotra to be made judges of the apex court. After sitting over the proposals for over three months, the government last Thursday approved Malhotra's appointment as a judge, but returned justice Joseph's file to the collegium for reconsideration.

Law minister Prasad has justified the move, saying justice Joseph is 42nd in the seniority list among the judges of other high courts and also adding the apex court already has representation from the Kerala High Court, justice K M Joseph's home court, in justice Kurian Joseph.

This triggered a massive outlash from jurists, including ex-CJIs RM Lodha and TS Thakur, and the Opposition who alleged the judiciary was under attack from the government.

They claimed the government acted vindictively against justice Joseph as a bench headed by him had quashed the Modi government's decision to impose President's Rule in Congress-ruled Uttarakhand in 2016.

The government, however, has denied the allegation, saying its decision had nothing to do with the verdict.