Jaitley slams SC order on Lokayukta

In a stinging criticism of Supreme Court's verdict on the appointment of Gujarat Lokayukata, top BJP leader Arun Jaitley Thursday objected to the it's reasoning granting primacy to the opinion of the High Court Chief Justice, saying this logic gives "exclusivity" to the Chief Justice rendering opinions of the chief minister and the leader of Opposition "completely redundant and otiose" which is fraught with risks for the constitutional balance of power.

"The verdict has evolved the role of the Chief Justice from being privy to the consultation process to one of 'primacy' and eventually to 'exclusivity' thus rendering role of the other constitutional authorities as 'insignificant'. The net and inevitable consequence of the reasoning is that the opinion of the Chief Justice of the HC prevails. The opinion of the other constitutional authorities such as the chief minister, the leader of Opposition is not relevant. They are unsuitable to give an opinion on retired judges. Only judges can opine on judges," he said in a signed article "to protest against the usurpation of executive powers of an elected government".

He also disagreed with the assumption of the verdict that the Chief Justice is the "best person" to judge suitability for Lokayukta post. For this purpose, he mounted a veiled attack on the judicial appointments system, highlighting that "the system of judges alone appointing judges and the judges alone judging judges has not worked satisfactorily" and has come to be seen as a "failed system" in the country.

He rejected the purposive interpretation of Gujarat's Lokayukta Act by the court, saying the rule of "strict interpretation must apply" in this case because its language has "no ambiguity". "It is the chief minister who has to consult the Chief Justice and the leader of Opposition. The key instrumentality in the consultation is the chief minister... The Governor...must grant approval on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers," he said.

... contd.

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