Don’t offend judiciary: CJ Sinha

The law ministry should stop defining the law, said Chief Justice SK Sinha as he warned the executive to avoid acts that offend the judiciary.

“If you don’t know the law, tell us and we will explain it to you in line with the constitution. It's not up to the executive to define the law. Remember this,” he said during a hearing in court on Monday.

The comment was about judges on deputation who were currently abroad without the Supreme Court’s permission. 

Attorney General Mahbubey Alam who was at the receiving end of this banter had pleaded for time for the government to publish a gazette on rules for lower court judges. 

The seven-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Sinha, in apparent annoyance, granted another two-week time for the gazette already delayed by more than two and a half years.

“What is this?” Chief Justice Sinha said as Attorney General Alam submitted the plea.

“Time,” said Alam.

“For what reason?” asked Sinha.

“The process is on,” said Alam.

“Should we laugh, or cry?” said the chief justice. “It hurts to laugh. Anyway, I’m not saying anything. Forty-five years have passed since we were liberated. Flaws still remain. There are some irregularities. We don’t want to live with them forever. We want a system.”    

Sinha then turned to the judges taking training abroad under a law ministry programme.

“I’ll tell the government that judges are not government officials. The Supreme Court wanted to know the names of judges on deputation who are currently abroad.”