Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday expressed displeasure over the criticism of the Supreme Court for judicial functioning and asked people to ruthlessly use freedom of expression while criticizing the rulings.
In a program organized by the Supreme Court on Constitution Day, Prasad said, "There may be some shortcomings but we should be proud of our judiciary as to why it has taken hold of the poor and the deprived."
The law minister said, there is a disturbing trend. Some people have a view as to what should be decided in a particular case. After this, a discussion starts in newspapers and a campaign is conducted on social media about what kind of decision should be made.
He said I would like to say very politely that it is totally unacceptable to criticize the judiciary in a ruthless manner. Unreasonable things were said about our judiciary, not caring for the stature.
Prasad said this at an event in which President Ramnath Kovind made an early address. The Union Minister said that the coronavirus epidemic has affected everyone and asked people to take a pledge that vaccines should be given first to the health workers fighting in advance.
He said that till October, the apex court heard about 30,000 cases during the epidemic through video conference. About 50 lakh cases were heard in all the courts.
Chief Justice SA Bobde said that at the time of the epidemic, the judiciary worked hard and showed commitment to ensure access to justice to all citizens. He said that the Supreme Court did a very good job compared to the courts of other countries.
Justice Bobde said that the courts faced some unforeseen challenges during the epidemic and the choice was very clear whether to either conduct a hearing in a digital manner or close the courts.
He said the courts had to hear cases on the painful condition of migrants, dead bodies, etc. Attorney General KK Venugopal suggested that there should be four intermediate appellate courts with 15 judges in the four corners of the country to ensure access to justice to all.