Balance of 3 organs of state should not be disrupted: Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee today said reforms in judicial system should not disrupt the fine balance among the legislature, executive and judiciary. Referring to judicial activism and assumption of a "wider role" by judiciary, President Mukherjee said, "The assumption of this wider role has at times courted opposition for its deviation from the principles of the separation of powers.

Yet, some of the positive contributions that such activism have spawned are unquestionable. "But, I would need to add a cautionary note here - the fine balance existing in every democracy with each of the three organs of the state, the legislature, executive and judiciary, playing their designated roles should not be disrupted," said Mukherjee, addressing an international seminar here on 'Recent Trends in Judicial Reforms: A Global Perspective.'

He said the three organs should not step into or play the role that the constitution has not assigned to them. "The fundamental principle is contained in the assertion of Charles Montesquieu that there can be 'no liberty' when either legislative and executive powers are combined in the
same entity or when the judicial powers are not separated from the legislative and executive," he said.

However, he expressed concern over the large pendency and expensive justice by saying it amounts to denial of justice. "In India, justice is time consuming and expensive. The large pendency of court cases is a cause for concern.  The total pendency in the subordinate courts and high courts in
the end of 2011 calendar year was over 3.1 crore cases. "The pendency in the end of 2012 calendar year in the Supreme Court was over 66,000 cases. Delay further adds to the costs.  Therefore, in many ways it amounts to denying justice and this is against the principle of equality that is the
bedrock of democracy," the President said.