'Concerted attack on collegium': ex-bureaucrats slam Rijiju's remarks

New Delhi: Former civil servants have criticised Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju for his comments saying that they constituted a concerted attack by the government on the collegium system and judicial independence, PTI reported.

A group of 90 ex-civil servants wrote an open letter to the minister saying that preserving the independence of the judiciary is not negotiable as well as the overreach of the executive cannot be accepted in a democracy.

"We write to you today in response to comments you made on various occasions and very recently at the India Today Conclave on March 18, 2023. Your statements that day is the latest in what is emerging as a concerted attack by the government on the collegium system of appointments, the Supreme Court of India and, ultimately, on judicial independence. We unequivocally condemn this onslaught," the letter read.

The letter said that the names forwarded by the collegium lay pending for years and only to be returned unapproved. Candidates with merits and distinguished careers were being turned down by the government, the ex-bureaucrats group under the banner Constitutional Conduct Group said in the letter.

The executive, including the offices of the law minister as well as the Vice President, is not engaging constructively with the Supreme Court but has been responding with 'venomous barbs'.

The letter alleged that the government refusing to accept listed candidates only issues the suspicion that its underlying intention is to create a pliant judiciary.

"We are puzzled by your repeated criticisms of the Supreme Court collegium while simultaneously stating that there was no confrontation between the government and the Supreme Court. To the average Indian, there does, indeed, seem to be a confrontation," the letter said.

"The process of determining judicial appointments goes to the heart of this independence. It is a testament to their commitment to the institution that retired judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts are not mute spectators to abrasive attacks on the judiciary," it said.

"Yet you have not hesitated to call them anti-India and have stated that a few retired judges are working in tandem with activists, groupings you described as 'anti-India gangs' and attempting to influence the judiciary to 'play the role of an Opposition party'," the letter said.

On the minister's 'action against those who worked against the country" remark, the letter said, "It seems to us that you are confusing the government with the country, construing criticism of the government as disloyalty to the country. You seem to believe that if a person disagrees with the views of the government, that is enough to permanently label him or her as 'anti-national'." The letter accused the Union government of suppressing dissent with punitive actions. Labelling public-spirited citizens as an "anti-India gang" and threaten them with action which will exact "a price" rings of authoritarianism, and "unbecoming of your high post", the letter reminded the minister.

The signatories of the letter stated that they recognise the need for continued deliberations on ways to improve the current system of judicial appointments, to deepen transparency, and the rigour of the process.

"We conclude by reminding you of a simple but cardinal truth: all organs of the State are bound by the Constitution of India and a government, simply because it is in the majority, cannot ride roughshod over Constitutional provisions regarding the separation of powers amongst the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. By doing so, you breach your own oath of office," the letter ended.