Contempt of court

IT’s a sad state of affairs when the judiciary has to repeatedly rouse the Central and state governments from slumber. What’s even worse is the reluctance of the authorities to take action despite court orders. Over 1,800 contempt cases are pending in the Supreme Court, while the corresponding figure for high courts is more than 1.43 lakh, according to a written reply submitted by the Law Ministry in the Lok Sabha last week. It has stated that the reasons for non-compliance with orders in contempt cases are “not available” with the Centre. Why are the respective ministries and departments not spelling out the reasons for their inaction, which borders on defiance? This lack of transparency and accountability strikes at the heart of the Modi government’s much-touted ‘maximum governance’ mantra.

State governments, too, have not exactly covered themselves in glory. For instance, many of them have failed to implement the guidelines issued back in 2006 by the Supreme Court regarding police reforms. An SC Bench justifiably became impatient with the Punjab Government recently over a 1996 pensionary benefit scheme that continues to be in limbo. “We can’t brush aside how courts are treated by the state governments,” Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan sharply remarked, underlining the hollowness of the promises made to the apex court by the political establishment. This insincerity mirrors the situation in the ‘temple of democracy’: The majority of the assurances made by Union ministers in Parliament remain unfulfilled.

Every attempt by the executive to drag its feet over court orders undermines the authority of the judiciary. It’s also a letdown for the public, which expects course correction whenever lapses in governance come under judicial scrutiny. The Supreme Court and high courts should go all out in warning governments to mend their ways, besides putting contempt cases on the fast track.