The Hindu : National : Do away with court vacations, Moily urged

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National

Do away with court vacations, Moily urged

Special Correspondent

Kochi: The former Supreme Court Judge, V.R. Krishna Iyer, has urged Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily to bring in a constitutional amendment for doing away with the vacations of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.

In a letter to the Minster, Mr. Iyer said: “Arrears of dockets are mounting and unless this inflation is arrested the judicial institution will collapse… our judges work only for 180 days in a year and the High Court 200 days. Having regard to the huge arrears mounting year after year and the handsome increase in the salaries and perks judges now enjoy, it is fair as a patriotic commitment to the nation for judges to abolish the vacation. Let them be content with what other senior public servants enjoy… Nehru had demanded that all public servants work harder and judges are no exception. I, as Law Minister, forced the Kerala High Court judges to work for 10 days more. They first declined. Then I moved to amend the High Court Act and then judges surrendered.”

Representation

Mr. Iyer, while urging the Minister to act quickly on a representation filed by Fiat Justicia, an organisation of lawyers, pointed out that a petition filed by the organisation was dismissed by the High Court. “Now it is for Parliament to make the higher court, including the Supreme Court, work without vacation,” he said.

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