Manish Tewari gives adjournment notice in LS on confrontation with judiciary

New Delhi, Dec 12: Congress MP Manish Tewari has given adjournment notice in the Lok Sabha on judiciary-Collegium issue. The issue is at the centre of a row following statements from various quarters. Tewari has sought a discussion on the issue.

"That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other businesses of the day to have a discussion on the confrontation with the judiciary brought to the fore by recent statements made by various Government and constitutional functionaries, including the Hon'ble Law Minister. Such statements prima facie undermine the faith in the highest court of judicature in our country and the justice system in general."

"The judicial system runs on the faith people repose in the decision making process of the judiciary. This takes us on a dangerous path where Courts could lose their legitimacy. Judges of the Hon'ble Supreme Court were constrained to discuss these comments in open court.

"The rule of law can never be sustained in such a scenario. More particularly, this has led to a stalling of appointments of judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts," the notice said.

The notice also said that the Supreme Court has a vacancy of seven judges and more than 380 vacancies exist in various High Courts.

"The Government must forthwith explain its stand and clarify its position with regard to the confrontations with the judiciary, " It added.