Three months after CJS’ meeting, govt and judiciary yet to agree on minutes

IT’S NOT just the Memorandum of Procedure (MOP), a document that serves as a rulebook for appointments to higher judiciary, that is stuck due to the turf battle between the Centre and the higher judiciary. Another document — of less importance than the MOP, but still important for laying a roadmap for the future of the Indian judicial system — is also stuck, mostly due to disagreements over minor issues.

Three months after the joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices of the high courts, held on April 24, the Centre and the judiciary have not been able to resolve their differences over some items in the minutes of the meeting. As a result, the law ministry has not cleared the minutes drafted by the Supreme Court.

Sources told The Indian Express that former Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda decided not to accept the minutes cleared by Chief Justice of India T S Thakur, opting instead to seek changes to some points that, he felt, didn’t “properly reflect” the deliberations at the one-day conference.