NSA's closed door briefing to SC judges: Experts have a divergent view

New Delhi, Apr 16: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval briefed judges of the Supreme Court for nearly an hour on national security.

The one hour briefing dealt with a master plan India had on fighting terrorism. In some quarters the move has been appreciated while in others it has been stated that an attempt is being made to influence the judiciary.

In short the briefing was about the importance of the judiciary in fighting terrorism.

Further, Doval also pointed out how the four pillars of democracy must work in tandem to fight terror. The speedy disposal of cases pertaining to terrorism was also part of the briefing.

Right or wrong:

The point of argument is whether a briefing by the national security advisor to the judges of the Supreme Court sends the right message or not.

The government is the largest litigant in any court and some felt that it gives the impression that an attempt to influence was made. However, several others feel that the judiciary is part of the Indian system and has every right to know what the country is doing to wage the war on terror.

Some advocates feel that there are many cases which are filed wrong. Under the garb of terror there have been instances when innocents have been picked up. There are human rights issued involved and judiciary cannot get influenced by such briefings.

The government is the largest litigant and hence on such sensitive issues it was not right on part of the NSA to brief the judges, a few advocates point out.

However, those who feel that the NSA did no wrong say that his talk was restricted to making the judges understand about the master plan in fighting terror.

The point that he drove across is not to do the prosecution a favour, but to ensure that terror cases are speedily disposed off. The war against terror takes a beating when cases drag on in the courts.

Most of the time the prosecution itself delays the case as the investigators would not have filed charges. The courts must ensure that there is no such delay.

Further, the role of the judiciary is extremely crucial in cases where an extradition is sought. If the police are armed with a judicial order of conviction, then the case for an extradition also becomes stronger.

In such cases the role of the judiciary is extremely crucial and hence speedy delivery of justice becomes extremely important. Further one must also understand that the judiciary decides cases on merit.

It has a mind of its own and can take a call on a case to case basis. To suggest that such a briefing would influence the judiciary is not right, experts also feel.

Work in tandem:

Doval during his briefing appraised the judges about the national security system and also the threats faced by India both internally and externally. He also stated that there is a need for stronger laws in order to fight terrorism.

However, the most important point was the speedy delivery of justice and the importance it had in the fight against terrorism.

In addition to this Doval emphasized on the need to ensure that the four pillars of democracy worked in tandem. All the four pillars have a role to play in the war against and unless there is cooperation, it would be very difficult to combat terror, he also said while adding that this is a non-partisan issue.

Terrorism is a reality and a major danger and it is important that the entire nation and especially the four pillars of democracy work in tandem to rid India of this menace, Doval also stated.

OneIndia News