The Hindu : National : Judicial activism: Buddhadeb seeks panel

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Tuesday, Oct 12, 2004

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National

Judicial activism: Buddhadeb seeks panel

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA, OCT. 11. The West Bengal Chief Minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, today said the judiciary had a tendency to overstep its limits and intrude into the executive and legislative spheres, andcalled for setting up a judicial commission under the Chief Justice of India toexamine the issue of accountability of the Supreme Court and High Court judges.

Mr. Bhattacharjee made these observations whileinaugurating a symposium on `Relationship between the Legislature and the Judiciary ' on the occasion of the Conference of Presiding Officers and Secretaries of Legislative Bodies in India. Relations between the judiciary and legislatures were sometimes marked by friction mainly because of courts powers relating to judicial review of laws and interference in the proceedings of Parliament to amend the Constitution, he said.

Judicial activism had become an issue of discussion among common people these days.Duties and responsibilities of the judiciary and legislatures were intended to be complementary and not confrontational.

The Lok Sabha Speaker, Somnath Chatterjee, called for a Constitutional amendment or enactment of legislation to preserve the exclusive jurisdiction of the legislatures and to decide all matters relating to their privileges without any interference from a court of law.

The West Bengal Assembly Speaker, Hashim Abdul Halim, said that in a democratic set-up, an unhealthy conflict between the judiciary and the legislatures was not desirable.

The Defence Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, emphasised the need for streamlining the functioning of the legislatures to minimise interference from the judiciary.

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