Page 12 - Kiren Rijiju

No plan as of now to bring All India Judicial Service, says govt

Due to divergence of opinion amongst the various stakeholders, there is no proposal "at this juncture" to bring an All-India Judicial Service to select judges of lower courts, the government said in Lok Sabha on Friday. The government has been pushing for an all-India judicial service on the lines of IAS and IPS to select judges or judicial officers for subordinate courts. "In view of the existing divergence of opinion amongst stakeholders, there is no such proposal of All India Judicial Service at this juncture," Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said in a written reply. According to the government, "a properly framed" All India Judicial Service is important to strengthen the overall justice delivery system. "This will give an opportunity for induction of suitably qualified fresh legal talent selected through a proper all-India merit selection system as well as address the issue of social inclusion by enabling suitable representation to marginalised and deprived sections of society," the

Odisha yet to submit proposal for establishing high court benches: Rijiju

Odisha government has not yet submitted a detailed proposal for establishment of benches of Orissa High Court including its location in consultation with the HC

Pending cases may touch 50 million mark in two months: Kiren Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said the number of pending cases across various courts could touch the five crore mark in a couple of months. Expressing concern over the issue of pendency, he said while such cases are likely to come down in the Supreme Court and high courts, the "real challenge" is in the lower courts. Addressing an event at the Delhi High Court in the presence of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, the minister said the number of pending cases is inching towards the five crore mark and flagged the issue of inadequate infrastructure in lower courts. Till a few months back, the pending cases were estimated at 4.83 crores. "I try to analyse about the bottleneck when we take the numbers. It is inching towards the five crore pendency. It is a matter of great concern," he said. Rijiju said he has to reply on the pendency issue in Parliament and elsewhere. "It is really difficult for me to answer ... it is about to reach five crore. At the present rate, maybe

Prioritise regional languages in court activities, says Law Minister Rijiju

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday batted for the use of regional languages in the curricular activities of the courts in the country and said he was opposed to "imposition" of one language. Rijiju also said easy access to justice is the "call of the time." In his address at the 12th Convocation of the Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University (TNDALU), he also praised the Tamil language. "As you all know, our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has a commitment to take the country forward along with our culture and our language. I also have been emphasising on this--that the Indian courts and the Indian legal system must have regional languages in the curricular activities." "I have already spoken to the Chief Justice of India, senior judges of the Supreme Court and all the Chief Justices of the High Courts, that in the future we must give priority to the regional languages," he said. Rijiju added "we all will be proud to see that Tamil language takes centrestage in the

Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena slams Rijiju's comments on collegium system

The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena on Thursday said Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju has crossed the Laxman Resha by commenting on the collegium system of appointment of judges, and he should resign. An editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana' alleged that the Narendra Modi government wants to control all important institutions including the judiciary. It wants people of its ideology in the judiciary and is trying to destroy democracy, Parliament and opposition leaders. For this, the government wants its people in the high courts, Supreme Court and also among prosecutors, it said. Rijiju recently called as "opaque" the present Supreme Court collegium system through which judges are appointed. "The basic fault with the present collegium system is that the judges are recommending those colleagues whom they know. Obviously, they would not recommend a judge they do not know," Rijiju had said. The Sena mouthpiece said it was clear that the law minister had crossed the

'Should not have happened', SC on Law Minister's remarks on collegium

The Supreme Court on Monday took strong exception to Law Minister Kiren Rijiju's recent comment on the collegium system of appointing judges, saying it should not have happened

Legendary sprinter P T Usha becomes first woman president of IOA

P T Usha will be the first woman president of the Indian Olympic Association in its 95-year history and the first Olympian and an international medalist to head the national Olympics committee

Govt doing everything possible to strengthen judicial system: Kiren Rijiju

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the government is doing everything possible to strengthen the judicial system and have a "very close, cordial relationship" with the judiciary. The remarks come close on the heels of the minister attacking the collegium system of appointment of judges and describing it as something alien to the Constitution. Addressing the Constitution Day event at the Supreme Court in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud, Rijiju said, "We work as a team from the government's side under the visionary leadership of the prime minister." "We are doing everything possible to strengthen the Indian judicial system and also to have a very close, cordial relationship with the Indian judiciary," he said. Rijiju said he is fortunate to have shared a very cordial relationship with the previous two CJIs N V Ramana and U U Lalit, and incumbent Chandrachud as well as the judges of the Supreme Court and high ...

Rijiju disapproves of protests by lawyers over collegium recommendations

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday disapproved of protests by certain lawyer bodies against the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium to transfer some high court judges. Addressing an event here to felicitate newly appointed Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, he said if strikes become a recurring phenomenon for every decision taken by the collegium, "then where will it lead to". Bar bodies of Gujarat, Telangana and Madras high courts have protested the decision of the collegium to transfer some judges. "Yesterday, I heard some of the lawyers want to meet the chief justice of India for transfer case. Now the issue may be, if you look from isolation, it may be one of the issues. But if this becomes a recurring instance for every decision taken by the collegium, on which it is being supported by the government, then where will it lead to. Then the whole dimension will change," Rijiju said.

All inhabited villages in NE to be connected with 4G by Dec 2023: Rijiju

All inhabited villages in the northeastern region and border areas must be connected with 4G network by December 2023, Union minister Kiren Rijiju said on Tuesday. After reviewing the 4G saturation project for providing 4G mobile service to all inhabited villages of the Northeast at a meeting here, Rijiju said as telecom revolution is happening, no remote area should remain unconnected and this is the motto of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. By December 2023, all inhabited villages of the Northeast and border areas must be connected by the 4G network, he told PTI. The Union Minister of Law and Justice said the purpose of the meeting was to ensure coordination among different stakeholders, bring all of them onboard and fill the gap if any. Reviewed the 4G Saturation project for providing 4G Mobile Service to all inhabited villages of North-East. Secretary, Telecom & officials including from Armed Forces attended. Proper coordination is worked out to complete the project timely as ...

Surprising Karan Singh sidestepped Rijuju's hit job on Nehru: Jairam Ramesh

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday criticised party colleague Karan Singh for "sidestepping" Union minister Kiren Rijuju's "hit job" on Jawaharlal Nehru's role in Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India. The Congress general secretary's remarks come over an article by Karan Singh on Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India in an English daily in which Ramesh said he had defended his father and erstwhile ruler Hari Singh. Reacting to the piece, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Ramesh said on Twitter, "There is not a single scholarly and serious work on J&K that portrays Maharaja Hari Singh in good light." "Even this authoritative work by VP Menon doesn't make Hari Singh a wronged man. It is hence natural that his son Dr. Karan Singh defends him in the HT today," Ramesh said, sharing the screenshot of the cover of a book by Menon. "What I find surprising though is that Dr.Karan Singh has sidestepped Rijuju's hit job on Nehru. This the same Nehru without

Jairam Ramesh calls Kiren Rijiju 'distorian' over the Nehru J-K debate

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said he spoke to a BJP ideologue about Union minister Kiren Rijiju's criticism of Jawaharlal Nehru on the Kashmir issue and was told that Nehru being vilified is one thing, but erstwhile ruler Hari Singh being exalted as a benevolent hero "takes the cake". Rijiju had stated that Nehru's "blunders", which included enacting Article 370 and taking the dispute with Pakistan to the United Nations, caused much tragedy, drained the country's resources and cost thousands of lives of soldiers and civilians in militancy. "I spoke to a BJP ideologue this morning about Kiren Rijiju, the latest entrant to the club of Distorians," Ramesh said in a tweet. "He (the BJP idealogue) sent me the following message: The strange thing is, Nehru being vilified is one thing, Hari Singh being exalted as some sort of upright & benevolent hero takes the cake," the senior Congress leader said without naming the "BJP ideologue". Hari Singh was the last ruling ...

Despite Covid waves, India one of fastest-growing economies: Rijiju

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said despite the three waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, India is currently one of the fastest-growing economies in the world

Along with environment, job protection is a concern, says Kiren Rijiju

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that protection of jobs in India is a concern while safeguarding the environment during economic progress. The per capita GDP in India is still very less compared to other mid-level and developed nations, Rijiju said after inaugurating a seminar here. "When we talk about growth of the economy, we only talk about protection of the environment. But we are also concerned about protection of jobs," he said. Addressing the seminar on 'Environment and Sustainable Development - Role of Judiciary' and 'Digitisation of Indian Judiciary - its Impact in Dispensation of Justice', Rijiju said all stakeholders must come together to deliberate on the issues. "Today, the per capita GDP of India is 2,100 dollars and it is very less, but India as a whole, when we calculate, it's close to a 3.23 trillion dollar economy. It is the fifth largest economy (in the world)," he said. The international standard of development for "middle-level ...

Centre decided to remove all obsolete, archaic laws: Kiren Rijiju

Rijiju announced that the Centre has decided to remove all obsolete and archaic laws of the Indian judiciary from the statute box stating that they have no relevance in today's time

Parliament to revoke over 1,500 obsolete laws in the coming session: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants lesser government role in people's lives and the Centre will repeal more than 1500 obsolete and archaic laws during the winter session of Parliament. Obsolete laws are impediments in the normal life of common people and do not have relevance in the present time , nor deserve to remain in the statute books, Rijiju told mediapersons here. "It is the prime minister's desire to reduce the compliance burden of the people, to ensure that they can live as peacefully as possible. He wants less government role in the life of the common people," Rijiju said. We (NDA government at the Centre) have decided to remove all obsolete archaic laws from the statute as unnecessary laws are a burden to the common man. We have decided to revoke more than 1500 laws in the winter session of Parliament. I am ready to introduce many more repealment acts," he said. Laws, he said, are meant to facilitate justice for the common

Over 1,500 archaic acts to be repealed in the upcoming Parl session: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants lesser government role in people's lives and the Centre will repeal more than 1500 obsolete and archaic laws during the winter session of Parliament. Obsolete laws are impediments in the normal life of common people and do not have relevance in the present time , nor deserve to remain in the statute books, Rijiju said addressing the 'Rozgar Mela' programme here. "It is the prime minister's desire to reduce the compliance burden of the people, to ensure that they can live as peacefully as possible. He wants less government role in the life of the common people," Rijiju said. Modi on Saturday launched Rozgar Mela, the recruitment drive for 10 lakh personnel. We (NDA government at the Centre) have decided to remove all obsolete archaic laws from the statute as unnecessary laws are a burden to the common man. We have decided to revoke more than 1500 laws in the winter session of Parliament. I am ready to

People unhappy with collegium system; govt's job to appoint judges: Rijiju

Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju said the people of the country are not happy with the collegium system and according to the spirit of the Constitution, it is the government's job to appoint judges. Speaking at 'Sabarmati Samvad' organised here on Monday by 'Panchjanya', a weekly magazine published by the RSS, he said he has observed that half of the time judges are "preoccupied" with deciding the appointments, due to which their primary job of delivering justice "suffers". The minister's remarks came after he had said at a conference in Jaipur last month that there is a need to rethink the collegium system of appointments to the higher judiciary. "Till 1993, every judge in India was appointed by the law ministry in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. We had very eminent judges at that time," Rijiju said in response to a question on the process of appointment of judges. "The Constitution is clear about it. It says that the President of India will appoint judges

Don't understand why Kejriwal and his gang hate Hindu, Hindutva: Rijiju

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju hit out at the AAP and its leadership saying he does not understand why Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and "his gang" hate Hindu and Hindutva so much. The minister's remarks came after a video clip purportedly showing Delhi Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam at an event where hundreds took a pledge to convert to Buddhism while denouncing Hindu deities went viral. In a series of tweets posted late on Friday night and on Saturday morning, Rijiju said, "I really don't understand the reason as to why Arvind Kejriwal and his gang hate Hindu and Hindutva so much." "I can understand about Rahul Gandhi but Arvind Kejriwal....," the BJP MP from Arunachal Pradesh said. Every Indian should follow the mantra of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas', he added. After the video of Gautam attending the event went viral, the BJP sought the minister's resignation, saying his comments highlight the hate the AAP has for Hindus. Gaut

We cannot make judges work like machines: Rijiju on pending cases

With the pendency of cases in various courts rising, Union Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday pitched for striking a balance to address the burden on judges as well as people's struggle to get access to judiciary, and said "we cannot make judges work like machines". Rijiju said the pendency of cases in various courts is about to cross 4.8 crores. He was speaking at the inaugural session of a Delhi University conclave -- Indianisation of Legal System and Education. The two-day conclave has been organised jointly by the Faculty of Law and the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA). "On the one hand, we are talking about the modern legal system, which is based on accountability, transparency, and fairness and on the other hand, we are saying that the common people of our country are finding it more difficult in getting access to justice," the minister said. "When I took over as the minister for law and justice (in 2021), the pendency of cases in various courts in Ind