New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana has strongly criticized the hasty and indiscriminate arrests and delays in getting bail to those in custody. He said that in the prevailing situation the process of our criminal justice system itself has become the punishment.  Pointing to the indefinite incarceration of undertrails the CJI said that the issue of keeping undertrials in custody for a long time needs immediate attention and added that  the country “needs a holistic plan to enhance the efficiency of criminal justice administration.”

He said that training of police, sensitization and modernization of the prison system has to be  done at a faster pace as part of reforms in the administration of criminal justice. The CJI further said that to strengthen parliamentary democracy, there is a demand to strengthen the opposition as well. “We have a form of government where the executive, both political and parliamentary, are accountable to the legislature. Accountability is the basic principle of democracy.”

Justice Raman further said that “I have highlighted the importance of parliamentary debates and parliamentary committees on several occasions. In fact, I used to look forward to legislative debates. The special thing at that time was that the Leader of the Opposition used to play a major role. There used to be a lot of mutual respect between the government and the opposition. Unfortunately, the scope of the opposition is shrinking.”

  In his speech CJI NV Ramana also commented on the working style of the judiciary and its role in the smooth implementation of the Constitution in the past. A few days ago the CJI remarked that “any party in power in India believes that every act of the government deserves judicial approval, while opposition parties expect the judiciary to follow their political stand and objectives. But ‘the judiciary is responsible to the constitution and only to the constitution”

Such comments from the CJI have come at a time when there has been a series of controversy in the country regarding the arrest of Mohammad Zubair and Gujarat’s leader Jignesh Mevani. He expressed disappointment over the fact that even after 75 years of independence people have not understood the roles and responsibilities given to every institution by the Constitution.

CJI Ramana further said that “the country celebrates the 75th anniversary of independence this year and 72 years have passed since the country became a republic. I would like to say here with some regret that we have not fully understood the roles and responsibilities assigned to each institution by the Constitution.”

During a felicitation ceremony organized by the Association of Indian Americans in San Francisco, USA the CJI had observed that “the party in power believes that every act of the government deserves judicial sanction. On the other hand, opposition parties expect the judiciary to take forward their political stand and objectives.”