ITANAGAR, Feb 18: Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Tenzing Norbu Thongdok on Sunday said that the Press and Civil Society are invaluable for survival and sustenance of democracy.

He said this in his speech during the meet of 6th India Region Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Association at Bihar Vidhan Sabha. He was speaking on ‘Legislature and Judiciary- two important pillars of democracy’.

“The invaluable position of these two further pillars in our functional democracy cannot be underestimated,” he said calling Press and the civil society fourth and fifth pillars of democracy.

The Speaker called for a check in the political executive failings saying it often leads to the suffering of public interest.

Highlighting the Supreme Court controversy where four of the senior Supreme Court judges alleged lack of transparency in the selection of judges to try cases, he criticized that it should not be the job of the Judges to cherry pick lawyers for designating Senior Advocates.

“Such distinction has to be acquired by lawyers through merit cum experience based upon inter se open competition. I personally feel that there should be strict separation of the Bench from the Bar. If Judges of subordinate judiciary have to pass competitive exams for their appointment, there is no reason why competitive exams should not be prescribed for elevation of Judges to High Courts and Supreme Court of India,” Thongdok pointed out.

“Only a judge with appropriate length of service at District level should be elevated to High Court and only a judge with suitable length of service in any High Court should he appointed to the Supreme Court. The whole procedure of appointment of judges requires a thorough review so that merit and merit alone becomes the parameter for appointment. Judges have to be appointed on hierarchical basis and move upwards from subordinate judiciary to the Supreme Court. Matters concerning the judiciary, as regulated by Parliament, should be ousted from the examination of courts ostensibly in exercise of powers of judicial review, since judges cannot be judges in their own case,” he suggested adding that the colonial and archaic procedures of courts have to be discarded.

The speaker also demanded that the constitutional provisions concerning removal of judges must be revisited.

“Complaint against judges must not only emanate from MPs of either House of Parliament, but should also be allowed to come from MLAs of State Legislatures and from the general public,” he further added.

Parliamentary Secretary (Food & Civil Supplies) Tage Taki, who also attended the 6^th CPA, also delivered speech on Parliament’s Role in the development of agenda.

 

--

---

Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

<< Back to News List