Pandemic fight
The Centre cracking the whip when facing oxygen shortage is too little, too late. Scrambling to find supplies when people are battling for life is distressing. Lack of planning and public messaging have led to this nightmarish situation but we can still salvage it by strong public health measures to reduce transmission and strict isolation along with ramping up vaccination.
Dr. Thomas Palocaren,
Vellore, Tamil Nadu
For the new CJI
Justice N.V. Ramana, the next Chief Justice of India, has the unenviable task of protecting and preserving the independence of India’s great judiciary; one of the prime challenges he faces is the tremendous docket explosion. It is imperative that the judiciary is strengthened both quantitatively and qualitatively by the new incumbent to ensure that the workload at all levels of the judiciary remains under control.
S.K. Khosla,
Chandigarh
Judicial appointments
Taking recourse to Article 224A for appointment of ad hoc judges shows poorly not only on the Centre which faltered in the appointment process of new judges but also on the tendency of sitting judges itself who were too lenient to the litigants by procrastinating on hearings and judgments (Editorial, April 23). Cases involving celebrities and law makers are adjourned at will. Pending cases are a result of a systemic failure and ad hoc judges brought up in the said system are not going to perform any better except straining the exchequer. Even with 100% occupancy, there would be status quo on pending cases unless there is a change of mind. Moreover, favouritism cannot be ruled out in such appointments. The Supreme Court should have impressed upon the Government to expedite the appointment of judges recommended by the Collegium rather than resorting to unworkable methods in a critical sector.
V. Subramanian,
Chennai
