Speaking of the issue of the entry of all the faithful to the temple of Sabarimala, said Mr. Prasad. (File)
New Delhi:
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday that he respected the college system of the Supreme Court but that the ministry would not act as a post office and exercise its stakeholder role.
Mr. Prasad delivered the closing speech during the series of lectures by Professor NR Madhava Menon organized by Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad on “Legal and digital challenges for India Post Covid”.
Speaking about the question of the entry of all the faithful to the temple of Sabarimala, the Minister of Justice said that Professor Menon had taken a very hard position with regard to Sabarimala.
“He (Menon) said that the courts should be reluctant to interfere with people’s faith. If the faith is unpleasant, arbitrary, obviously unconstitutional, it should go … But if you start to pass judgment on faith and that too at the behest of people who have no connection with faith, so you are walking on slippery roads, “said Mr. Prasad.
He said that Professor Menon was very firm that the college system is no longer relevant and needs to be replaced because it has outlived its usefulness.
“We all know that the NDA government proposed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) for the appointment of judges. This decision was adopted unanimously by both houses of Parliament and more than 50% of Vidhan Sabhas . Yet the Supreme Court overturned it. “
“We respect the judgment of the SC but one thing that I would like to point out and debate on this subject. The SC judged that at the judicial commission, the Minister of Justice is also a member, so the persons appointed from this process can not being fair and objective when a dispute comes against the government. But if that is the reasoning, I have serious reservations as a law student, which I have said in the past, “said Mr. Prasad.
He said that in India there is a form of democratic governance where the Prime Minister is the head of government and the cabinet is accountable to him. If a simple association of law minister raises doubts about the objectivity of the appointment, it is a very big problem, he added.
“The PM plays a very important role in the appointment of the president, the vice-president, the judges, the head of the army, etc. The Indian people trust the PM to guarantee the holiness, the dignity and the security of the country PM has a nuclear button in his hand. You can trust the Prime Minister for so many things in the country, but you can’t trust him, helped by the Minister of Justice, to appoint just and objective judges, that is to say a too general comment, on which I have serious reservations.
“We accepted and respected the judgment but I would like to reiterate one thing: we respect the college system but we are not a post office. The Minister of Law and the Ministry of Law are not a post office, we are a stakeholder and we will continue to play our role, “said Mr. Prasad.
