Rijiju: Govt-judiciary differences do not mean confrontation

New Delhi, March 25

Maintaining that difference of opinion between various organs of the state was inevitable in a democracy, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said it could not be termed as a confrontation.

Must work as team

We should work as a team to identify and ensure that challenges like pendency of cases are tackled. Kiren Rijiju, Union Law minister

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“We have differences, but it doesn’t mean there is a confrontation. It sends the wrong message across the world. I want to make it clear that there is no problem between different organs of the state. There are signs of robust democratic actions,” Rijiju said, inaugurating the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court at Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking in the presence of CJI DY Chandrachud, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice T Raja, Rijiju referred to some media reports of alleged differences between the government and the Supreme Court.

“We must understand that we are in a democracy. There are bound to be certain differences in terms of some outlook, but you can’t have conflicting positions. This doesn’t mean confrontation. We are the largest democracy in the world.”

The Centre would support the Indian judiciary to be independent, he said, adding that the Bench and the Bar — being two sides of the same coin — must to work together to ensure that the court complex was not divided. “One can’t exist without the other,” he said.

“Everybody can’t think alike. We are not ruled by a dictatorial king, so the difference of opinion can’t be termed as a crisis in Indian democracy. We can criticise each other but when it comes to national interest we must be one,” he said.

“There may be separation of powers between the executive and the judiciary, but that does not mean they shouldn’t work together,” he said. (With PTI Inputs)