| These are critical times for India. As a coalition
government struggles to address a range of social and economic ills, the last thing we
need is further tension. Unfortunately trouble is at hand. We have previously covered epic
battles between the judiciary and the executive. But for the first time we were faced with
a story that revealed an emerging tussle between the President and the judiciary, two
cornerstones of democracy. This is not yet a public controversy. But one of our jobs is to
break stories, something we have never shied away from. Editor Prabhu Chawla was given
exclusive access to papers which showed that President K.R. Narayanan formally suggested
the chief justice of India should give due consideration to the scheduled castes and other
weaker sections of society in judicial appointments. More importantly, he declared that
eligible persons from these categories are available. It is true that Scheduled Castes are
underrepresented in the judiciary, but interference by the President is unprecedented and
appears to be constitutionally untenable. It might
seem that he has, at worst, committed an impropriety. After all, the President is the
supreme constitutional authority. But the implications are far more serious. Reservations
-- thus far only for government jobs -- have always been a divisive issue. But
reservations in premier judicial jobs could destroy the tradition of merit-only
appointments in the judiciary. If the President's advice was to be accepted, it would open
a Pandora's box of new demands. What if these were made for the army? "Coming from a
person of his intellect and eminence, it seems to defy all rational explanation,"
says Chawla. True, the justices, as every appointment in India, exist at the President's
pleasure. But the President's pleasure should not end up being the Republic's pain.
(Aroon Purie) |
