CPI (M) makes strong case for National Judicial Commission

New Delhi, Apr 3 (UNI) Growing judicial activism today came in for severe criticism by the CPI (M) which denounced the " pro- rich" intervention of the judiciary and demanded the setting up of a National Judicial Commission to establish its accountability and suggest other reforms.

" Increasingly, the higher judiciary is intervening in favour of the private sector and the employers," Party General Secretary Prakash Karat told newspersons at the conclusion of three-day session of party Polit Bureau and the Central Committee.

At a press conference, Mr Karat said there had been a number of judgements by the Supreme Court in the recent period, which overturned verdicts favouring the workers." At the same time the trend of curtailing democratic rights and collective action by the higher judiciary continues." Replying to a specific query on how the party proposed to protect the workers' rights, the CPI (M) top leader said," we have got a dozen of such judgments which display the judiciary bias in favour of the rich. One such case is the overturning of the backwages to the workers in case of their reinstatement." To another related query, the CPI (M) leader made it clear that the party was opposed to the judiciary favouring economic reforms and liberalisation and that it had got the right to "criticise" the same.

Referring to the Apex Court'recent judgment staying the 27.5 per cent reservations for the OBCs in higher education, the Left leader said the government had yet not taken a final decision on the issue.

"We hope that in the UPA-Left parties meeting here on April 5 some concrete solution will emerge." " The Kerala High Court order banning student organisations and political activities from the campuses is one such instance," Mr Karat said adding that the party Central Committee was concerned over the "growing trend of judicial encroachment in the spheres of the Executive and Parliament." The CC expressed its apprehensions on the SC judgement making laws in the Ninth schedule of the Constitution subject to judicial scrutinty.

He said the basic features of the Constitution had not been defined by the Apex Court in the Keshavanand Bharati case." It is necessary to have a clear definition of the basic features of the Constitution." The party 17- member Polit Bureau includes West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, his counterpart in Kerala A Achutanandnan, other senior leaders Sitaram Yechury, M K Pandhe and Ms Brinda Karat. The 80-member CC includes other senior leaders- Basudeb Acharia, Mohammad Salim, Balwant Singh, Nilotpal Basu and W R Vardharajan.

UNI