The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR) issued a statement on Wednesday criticising the Supreme Court for “sacrificing the core principles of fairness and transparency in justice delivery system” during the COVID-19 lockdown.
The NGO has former judges, and lawyers like Prashant Bhushan as members.
The statement said the court has accepted without demur whatever the Union Government has put on affidavit and not carried out its constitutional duty of holding the government to account through powers of judicial review. “Whether on the issue of the rights of stranded migrant labour, the curbs on 4G internet in Kashmir or in important habeas corpus cases, we believe that the Court’s passivity in the face of dire need is difficult to comprehend,” it said.
CJAR said the manner in which certain cases are being heard at great urgency, while other similar matters are kept pending without a hearing for long, is likely to make the public lose faith in the fairness of the Court’s processes.
The impression created is that the process has been left to the utter discretion of the Registry staff and is not guided by rules or principles of fairness and equality before law, it said.
It urged the court to implement its judgment allowing live-streaming of court hearings.
Finally, the statement pointed out that while many high court have already decided to cancel their summer vacations to make up for the time lost during lockdown, the Supreme Court “has not taken any such decision yet.”
