Former Law Minister and Senior Congress leader Ashwani Kumar welcomed Chief Justice of India NV Ramana's statement that there is a need to preserve, protect, and promote an independent judiciary and said that the Supreme Court is the custodian of the people's rights and has to be independent.
Speaking to ANI, Kumar said, "I think the Chief Justice of India has spoken well. It is only to be expected from the head of the Judiciary in the country that he supports the cause of the fundamental rights of people which can only be achieved if the Judiciary is independent."
He further said, "Therefore Supreme court is the custodian of the people's rights and it has to be independent that is the demand and the spirit of the Constitution. I am indeed delighted that the honourable Chief Justice of India has spoken out loud and clear about the need for an independent Judiciary."
Kumar's remarks came a day after the Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Sunday spoke about the role of Constitutional Courts in a welfare state, and said it is their ability "to function with absolute independence" and "necessary boldness in the face of adversity" that defines the character of the Indian judiciary.
He had said that there is nothing more important than to "preserve, protect and promote the independence of the judiciary at all levels".
The CJI's remarks came at the valedictory ceremony of the Pan-India Legal Awareness and Outreach Campaign by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
Commenting on the Centre's ordinance extending the tenure of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) director and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) director to five years, the Congress leader said that such an ordinance should have been passed after tabling it in the Parliament's upcoming winter session and should have been passed after holding discussions with the Opposition parties.
Kumar alleged, that bringing such an ordinance without holding discussions will benefit a particular group of people.
The Congress leader said, "This is a strange move because the winter session of Parliament has been called from November 29 and such a sensitive law should be discussed and passed in the Parliament so that the opposition gets an opportunity to present its views. By not doing so, the ordinance has been adopted. Obviously, some people are going to benefit from this."
"The manner in which the enforcement agency has been misused in the past few years, this move has caused concern among the people and the government should not take any such step which damages the credibility of the independent agency," added Kumar further.
( With inputs from ANI )
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