Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and retired Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph discussed issues relating to the independence and accountability of the judiciary at a book launch in New Delhi on Thursday, 9 May.
Although neither commented on the allegations of sexual harassment against Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Jaitley claimed that a "process of mass Intimidation of judges had begun" over the last couple of years – that had nothing to do with the government.
He argued that the kind of articles in the media and social media about judges and ongoing cases, whether leaked stories about letters between judges or opinion pieces about judgments, were part of an attempt to tarnish the “honour” of the court.
Justice (Retd) Kurian Joseph agreed with Jaitley on the need for better disciplinary measures for judges of the high courts and Supreme Court than just impeachment, and argued that this would actually be the best way to preserve the honour of the institution.
He also raised a number of concerns about the functioning of the Supreme Court Collegium when it comes to the appointment of judges, and said that the problems with this system has led him to disorder that the NJAC case could maybe have been decided differently.
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