Legislature Does Not Assess Impact Of Laws It Passes; This Leads To Big Issues : CJI NV Ramana

Speaking at the Valedictory Function of the Constitution Day Celebrations, the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on Saturday raised the issue of legislature not conducting studies to assess the impact of the laws it passes. The CJI added that this leads to "big issues".He cited the example of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, the enactment of which led to the burdening of Magistrate courts. He also mentioned that the re-branding of existing Courts as Commercial Courts will not address the problem of pendency."Another issue is that the legislature does not conduct studies or assess the impact of the laws that it passes. This sometimes leads to big issues. The introduction of Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act is an example of this. Now, the already burdened magistrates are further burdened by thousands of these cases. Similarly, rebranding the existing courts as commercial courts, without creating a special infrastructure, will not have any impact on the pendency", CJI Ramana said.Highlighting this aspect, the CJI said that the "issue of pendency is multi-faceted in nature", and exhorted the Central Government to take into consideration the suggestions received during the last two days."Therefore, the issue of pendency is multifaceted in nature. I hope the Government takes into consideration the suggestions received during these two days and resolves the prevailing issues", the CJI said.It may be noted that a Supreme Court bench had recently directed the Union Government to conduct the legislative impact assessment of the Consumer Protection Act 2019. Following that, the Centre submitted a legislative impact study report, which revealed that the changes in the pecuniary jurisdiction of the fora under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 will over burden the District Commissions.Earlier also, during the independence day celebrations, the Chief Justice of India had spoken about the issue of legislature passing laws without proper discussions. He had commented that it was "a sorry state of affairs" that many laws had ambiguities, and due to lack of discussions, it was not possible to understand the intention of the laws. This was leading to unnecessary litigation, the CJI had said then.'Sorry State Of Affairs' : CJI Ramana Says Laws Lack Clarity These Days Due To Lack Of Parliamentary DebatesThe CJI also mentioned in his speech that judiciary alone cannot be blamed for liberal acquittals and long adjournments, ignoring the contribution of the non-cooperation of prosecutors and advocates."Another set of misunderstandings relate to the belief that the Courts are responsible for liberal acquittals and adjournments. However, the truth is that the public prosecutors, advocates and parties - all have to co-operate with the judicial process. Non-cooperation, procedural lapses and faulty investigation cannot be blamed on Courts", the CJI said.The CJI also referred to the suggestions made by the Attorney General for India KK Venugopal yesterday regarding the contribution of four regional courts of appeals in different zones of the country to reduce the burden of the Supreme Court, so that it can focus more on constitutional issues. The CJI mentioned that the Attorney General proposed the restructuring of the judicial system and altering the hierarchy of the Courts. "This is something that merits consideration by the Government. Since independence, I do not think there has been a serious study to consider what exactly should be the structural hierarchy of judiciary in India", the CJI said.President of India Ram Nath Kovind, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Supreme Court judges Justices AM Khanwilkar and L Nageswara Rao also spoke at the function.Full text of CJI's speech :"Finally, the two day long celebration of Constitution day is coming to an end. In these two days, we have had a vibrant exchange of ideas. Celebrating Constitution Day is not new to the legal fraternity. However, this year it has been special because the three organs of the State have come together to exchange their views on various issues. I am happy that all of you could take out time to travel from different parts of the country to be a part of this event. The purpose of this meet was to highlight our dedication to constitutional principles. Yesterday, I mentioned how even the well-informed sections of the society are unaware of the importance of the Constitution. Although we are tirelessly working to uphold the Constitution, but there is still a need to spread more understanding about the Constitution. If people are unaware about their rights and entitlements, they cannot claim benefit from the same. People also need to know the scope and limitations of the roles ascribed to the different organs of the State. We need to clear the prevailing misconceptions. For example, many people in this country believe that it is the Courts which make the laws. Another set of misunderstandings ...

Legislature Does Not Assess Impact Of Laws It Passes; This Leads To Big Issues : CJI NV Ramana

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