In Upper House nomination, a fall for ‘aloofness’(The Hindu)

Mains Paper 2:Polity
Prelims level: Rajya Sabha
Mains level:Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies

Context:

• Within five months of his retirement as Chief Justice of India, Justice Ranjan Gogoi has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the government. Shortly before his retirement from the Supreme Court of India, he delivered several important verdicts with far-reaching political consequences that left the government pleased, including the Ayodhya judgment.
• Before that, Justice Gogoi dismissed a review of the Rafale fighter aircraft deal without substantially dealing with the grounds on which the original judgment, negating an independent investigation, had been challenged.
• The original judgment relied upon several pieces of false and misleading information, conveyed to the Supreme Court by the government, in an unsigned note and handed over in a sealed cover.

Key judgments handled:

• During his tenure, Justice Gogoi also presided over and pushed through the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, an exercise that has excluded more than 19 lakh people from the final version of the citizenship register, and which has been widely criticised on several grounds.
• In short, the exercise presided over by ....................................................

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A turning point:

• Allegations of sexual harassment against him give us a good insight into this. A female staffer who was asked by him to work at his residence, accused him in an affidavit of detail, of harassment soon after he became the Chief Justice of India.
• The action taken against her was astounding. Not only was she dismissed from service in an ex-parte hearing on frivolous grounds, but her brother-in-law, who was inducted to the Supreme Court staff under Justice .......................................................

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A forgotten code:

• The 16-point code of conduct for judges or as it was called the “Restatement of Values of Judicial Life” (adopted at a Chief Justices Conference in May 1997) states: “6. A judge should practice a degree of aloofness consistent with the dignity of his office”; 7. A judge shall not hear and decide a matter in which a member of his family, a close relation or a friend is concerned”.
• Obviously this “aloofness”........................................................

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Way forward:

• Justice Gogoi and the government’s actions in the sexual harassment case and the offer of a Rajya Sabha seat by the government, raise serious doubts about the fairness of many critical judgments, including the ones mentioned above that were under Justice Gogoi’s watch.
• The precedent that he has set strikes a blow against the independence of the judiciary. I hope that this shameful act will lead to public opprobrium which will deter other judges from emulating such conduct.

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  General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

Prelims Questions:

Q.1)With reference to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, consider the following statements:
1. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to increase GST rates on mobile phones to 18 per cent from 12 per cent with effect from 1st of April.
2. It is a constitutional body under Article 300.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer: ........................

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Mains Questions:
Q.1)Do you think the nomination of a former Chief Justice of India to the Rajya Sabha is a blow against the judiciary’s independence? Comment.