EX-CJI GOGOI’S REMARKS ON JUDICIARY CAUSE OF WORRY: PAWAR

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Sunday termed the remarks made by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi about the judiciary “shocking and “worrisome”. The former CJI had criticised the judicial system and said the judiciary in India is “ramshackled”.

Speaking on the sidelines of an event in Pune, Pawar said: “Last week, I read somewhere that Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) in one of the meetings of Supreme Court judges, stated that the standard of the Indian judiciary is very high. We all felt good. But the statement made by former Chief Justice of India, who has been now sent to Parliament, is a very shocking kind of a statement. I do not know if he tried to explain the truth of judiciary.”

PM Modi, while addressing an event to mark the golden jubilee of the Gujarat high court on February 5, said that the country’s Supreme Court has become number one in the world in conducting hearings through videoconferencing. He also said that the judiciary has always interpreted the Constitution positively to strengthen it further. “It always performed its duty: be it safeguarding the rights of people of the country or to prioritise national interest,” the PM said.

Later, addressing the India Today conclave on February 11, the former CJI reportedly said if one goes to Indian courts they would have to wait endlessly for a verdict. “How important the judiciary is as a constitutional body need not be emphasised upon. You want a $5-trillion economy, but your judiciary is ramshackle,” he said.