Is govt trying to orchestrate confrontation with judiciary: Cong MP on Rijiju’s ‘frivolous PILs’ remark

New Delhi: Congress MP Manish Tewari raised questions on Friday over Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju’s recent remarks on the Supreme Court and asked if the government is trying to “orchestrate” a confrontation with the judiciary.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Rijiju said if the Supreme Court takes up all bail applications and “frivolous PILs”, it will cause a lot of extra burden. He said this after introducing the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the Upper House of Parliament.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Tewari said Rijiju’s remarks raised a very fundamental question — whether this government believes in liberty.

“The law minister of the country recently gave a statement, saying the Supreme Court should not hear frivolous PILs and bail applications. He further went on to say that Supreme Court judges take too many vacations and then questioned the process of appointments to the higher judiciary,” the Congress leader noted.

Latching on to Rijiju’s remarks, he asked, “Does this government believe in Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty)? Is this government trying to orchestrate a confrontation with the judiciary?”