Q. Judicial appointments in India suffer from the twin challenges of institutional opacity and executive–judiciary friction. Examine their impact on the administration of justice. (150 words, 10 marks)
Directions: Intro------Impacts of institutional opacity & executive–judiciary friction-------Conclusion.
Introduction:
Brief about the judiciary - an independent and efficient judiciary - timely, transparent and merit-based appointment of judges.
Main Body
Impact of institutional opacity:
- Questions over merit and accountability – Selection criteria, appointments, etc. - create perceptions of favouritism or nepotism.
- Limited diversity in the judiciary – Under-representation of women, SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities and other marginalised sections.
- Weak public trust – Secrecy in appointments - suspicion regarding the independence and fairness of the institution.
- Difficulty in institutional self-correction.
Impact of executive–judiciary friction:
- Vacancies and judicial backlog
- Direct impact on access to justice - Prolonged litigation, increased legal costs and delayed remedies - “justice delayed is justice denied”.
- Administrative disruption - Delays in appointments affects constitution & functioning of Benches, allocation of judicial work, disposal of important matters & overall court administration.
- Threat to institutional independence – Excessive executive influence or prolonged withholding of appointments - indirect pressure on the judiciary.
Conclusion:
Give a balanced conclusion and suggest some way forward measures.
Judicial independence cannot mean institutional opacity, just as executive accountability cannot become executive control over the judiciary.
