Law minister 'concerned' over sharing of inputs from R&AW and IB in public domain

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju answered the question in Parliament saying the government had not received any information from the Judiciary. (Image: Twitter/@BJP4India)

Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday said that sharing some inputs from the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) in the public domain is a matter for grave concern for the government.

“Concerned officer who is working in disguised mode to collect info will think twice if the information (he is collecting) is shared in the public domain,” he said at an event to felicitate award winners of E-Courts project.

The Supreme Court Collegium in its resolutions reiterating its recommendation for elevation of some lawyers as judges of high courts, had recently quoted some reports of the IB and R&AW and wrote detailed responses to each apprehension by the agencies.

On the ongoing Collegium tussle between the government and the apex court, the minister said that the appointments were an administrative issue and had nothing to do with the judiciary and noted that some people had alleged that the government was lowering the dignity of the Supreme Court.

The minister highlighted the need for the government and the judiciary to work together to reduce the pendency in the courts. Citing that there are 4.9 crore cases pending in various courts across India, Rijiju said: “It's a huge cause of delay of justice, leads to denial of justice, justice must be delivered at the fastest possible pace.”

Rijiju highlighted that technology would play a critical role in reducing the pendency of cases. He also urged the stakeholders to explore alternate dispute resolution systems such as arbitration, mediation and conciliation. He also said that the mediation bill is currently being deliberated upon and will be passed in the near future.

Speaking of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Rijiju said he had requested him to continue as the chairperson of the Supreme Court’s e-committee even after becoming the CJI and he agreed to it. The minister also thanked the CJI for leading the e-committee to success.

The Digital India award has been awarded to the e-courts project and the Supreme Court’s e-committee has been awarded for digital institutions for enabling access to the differently abled.