Press Briefing Monday, 17 August 2009

Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi addressed the media today.


Dr. Abhishek Singhvi said that the government has joined the judiciary in the continuing war upon judicial arrears. The recent address of the Prime Minister and of several others and the on-going Chief Justices’ and Chief Ministers’ conference reflects one of the most comprehensive strong, clear and unequivocal declarations on the subject of judicial arrears or legal arrears. As you have noticed this war has to be holistic and multi prong. It has to be continuous and all different steps have to form part of the comprehensive goal whether there be substantive law provision reforms, whether there be procedural reforms, whether there be practice oriented reforms and so and so forth. They include ensuring filling up of High Court Judges’ vacancies before retirement of the incumbent. They include State level efforts to fill up subordinate judiciary vacancies. They are over 35% now of the strength. They include efforts to increase the population ratio Judge per billion Indian population. They include vast improvement in judicial infrastructure. The Congress believes that the tear of every aam-aadmi cannot be wiped off unless he gets justice from our core system some of the finest in the world but within a short time.

Dr. Singhvi said that for that in addition, the Congress party endorsing and supporting the Government’s clear declarations over the week-end would consider use of all possible constitutional and legal means including use of the power to appoint adhoc Judges including using the ADR and CDR which is Alternative Dispute Resolution and Consensual Dispute Resolution. This is a very useful bye-pass to litigation and originally the bye-pass to litigation was conceived as arbitration - now having bye-pass to the original bye-pass which means mediation and conciliation as bye-pass to the arbitration itself. We have full faith in the success of the nascent embryonic gram nyayalas which are now dependent on swift State implementation -over 5000 courts - but it requires prompt State intervention and State implementation. Acceding to the Chief Justices’ requests over 71-75 fast track CBI courts are being created. But the basic point is that the direction, the content, the momentum and the unequivocal intent to continue to increase the pace of the war in arrears is clearly reflected in the recent deliberations.

On the reaction of the Congress party over the PM’s statement today on “terror”, Dr. Singhvi said that there has never been any doubts in the minds of the government of India, the Prime Minister and the ruling coalition that what was meant, what was intended, what was understood and believed was only one thing that there can be no question of any kind of talks much less meaningful talks without concrete demonstrable action on the terror front.

Dr. Singhvi further said that there were questions and the BJP particularly tried to make the controversy. We have answered and the Prime Minister has reiterated the fundamental tenet of India’s stand. That is what was stated by the congress party and the Congress President spoke of it in the Congress Parliamentary party committee meeting. So this should be very clear and I would exhort all Indians and all segments of civil society to look upon that clarification, that statement, that understanding and that declaration by the government rather than to look to Pakistani clarifications for understanding the issue.

On the question of the reaction of the congress party over the statement of Shri K. Chandrahekhar Rao of TRS that supporters of TRS are ready to take up arms to get Telengana State, Dr. Singhvi said that he has not heard of any statement and if it is true he is astounded. Dr. Singhvi said that we have to function within the parameters of the Constitution of India. Everything which you believe or do not believe in, which you accept and you oppose bitterly, has to be solved within the confines of democracy.
 

(Tom Vadakkan)

Secretary, AICC