Indian Judiciary: Issues of accountability and credibility

The highest court in India has a very broad jurisdiction. In addition to state high courts, there are over a hundred central and state tribunals operating throughout India, and the Supreme Court sits in final adjudication over decisions made by both of these types of tribunals. Therefore, the supreme court’s accountability is essential to India’s judicial system.

Why accountability of higher judiciary is necessary?

High courts are not ready to reform themselves: In the Salem Advocate Bar Association case, the justices had requested the high courts to implement the detailed blueprint on case management most of them have not.

Limitations of supreme court to govern the High courts: Supreme court could not direct the high courts to do so because under our constitutional scheme the latter are autonomous constitutional bodies not subject to administrative directions of the Supreme Court.

Self-accountability in administrations of courts: It is in the high courts that there are now left the largest number of roadblocks and delays; in their administrative functioning the high courts are answerable to no one but themselves. This often enables the Supreme Court to plead helplessness, hardly a good augury for integrated court-management.

How judiciary can maintain its credibility and accountability?

Judiciary need to Preserve the independence: the judiciary as an institution needs to preserve its independence, and to do this it must strive to maintain the confidence of the public in the established courts.

Judges should safeguard the judges: The independence of judges is best safeguarded by the judges themselves through institutions and organisations that the law empowers them to set up, to preserve the image of an incorruptible higher judiciary that would command the respect of all right-thinking people.

Reform on case management: A bench of three justices of the Supreme Court, in a judgment delivered in August 2005, had drawn up a fine blueprint on case-management, on how to make recent amendments in our procedural laws work on the ground, and how to get more cases moving along: For instance, on three different tracks, fast track, normal track and slow track.

Supreme court should directly administer High courts: It is time that the Supreme Court be entrusted with direct responsibility for the functioning of the high courts: Only then can the highest court be an effective apex court, only then can the Supreme Court be made answerable, as it should be, for judicial governance for the entire country.

Public disclosure of income by judges: Judges must make annual financial disclosure statements, not privately to their respective chief justices, but publicly. It is done by justices of the Supreme Court.

How judiciary in USA maintain its credibility and accountability?

Judicial council act: In the United States, under the Judicial Councils Act, 1980, task of judicial independence has been gladly undertaken by the judges. But regrettably, so far, there is no law in India to guide our judges only “guidelines”. There is a felt need for a law.

Judges investigate the judges: The 1980 US Act confers powers on bodies comprised of judges to take such action against a federal judge “as is appropriate, short of removal.”

A case study of America: Under this law, some time ago, a committee of fellow judges had investigated complaints against a federal district judge, John McBryde; the Judicial Council reprimanded him and suspended him from hearing new cases for a year.

Corruption Investigation Not violating the judicial independence: McBryde challenged the decision. He argued that the 1980 law violated the judicial independence which the US Constitution had guaranteed to life-tenured federal judges; But a US Court of Appeals rejected all these pleas.

Oversight of judges is not interference: It accepted the argument of the US Solicitor-General that judicial independence, protected by Article III of the US Constitution, was meant to insulate judges from interference from other branches of government and not from oversight by other judges.

Giving More Autonomy to Universities

It is sad but not surprising that none of India’s institutions of higher education appears in the list of top 100 universities of the world.

Background: Ranking of the of the Indian Institutes

According to the QS World ranking: The 2023 edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) world university ranking reckons that three of India’s higher educational institutions amongst the top 200 of the World. Another three are counted among the top 300 whereas two more in the top 400.

As per the Times Higher education Ranking: The Times Higher Education (THE) ranking places only one Indian institution among the top 400 of the worlds.

Academic rankings: Rankings are the same with the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Barring one of the most eminent public-funded deemed universities of the country, all the rest are Institutions of National Importance (INIs) the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), to be specific.

Why other universities reflect poor performance than IITs and INIs?

IITs have more autonomy: IITs are not only better funded but also generally self-governed, enjoying a greater degree of autonomy as they fall outside the regulatory purview of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Strict UGC regulations: Funded through the University Grants Commission (UGC), universities are all subject to a very strict regulatory regime.

Micro-management of universities functioning: Abiding by UGC regulations and AICTE guidelines, encompasses almost all aspects of their functioning be it faculty recruitment, student admission and the award of degrees. In many cases, they are micro-managed by the regulatory authorities.

Very less autonomy to UGC affiliated Universities: Most of the universities have become so comfortable with the practice that they rarely assert their autonomy.

Ranking on basis of compliance: Central universities in the country are also ranked on the basis of their ‘obedience’ to regulatory compliances. Even in the academic domain, many of them are comfortable in publicly stating that they have adopted the model curricula, pedagogy and syllabi prescribed by the regulatory bodies, even though the same may have been only indicative.

What are the good practices of best universities around the world?

Importance to autonomy: The best universities in the world are continuously sensitized about the importance of their autonomy and are trained and enabled to make their own decisions.

University autonomy tool for comparison: The European University Association (EUA), for example, prescribes a ‘university autonomy tool’ that lets each member university compare its level of autonomy vis-à-vis the other European higher education systems across all member countries.

Four specific autonomies for ranking: By focusing on four autonomy areas (organizational, financial, staffing, and academic) the EUA computes composite scores and ranks all the countries in Europe.

What are the efforts taken to improve the universities performance?

National education policy 2020: A large number of commissions and committees, including the national policies on education (including the National Education Policy 2020), have highlighted the need for higher education autonomy. The new education policy seeks to completely overhaul the higher education system, and to attain this objective, repeatedly emphasizes the need for institutional autonomy.

Academic and administrative autonomy: The NEP regards academic and administrative autonomy essential for making higher education multi-disciplinary, and that teacher and institutional autonomy are a sine qua non in promoting creativity and innovation.

Independent board of management: The policy considers a lack of autonomy as one of the major problems of higher education and promises to ensure faculty and institutional autonomy through a highly independent and empowered board of management which would be vested with academic and administrative autonomy.

Light but tight regulation: It argues for a ‘light but tight’ regulatory framework and insists that the new regulatory regime would foster a culture of empowerment. Further, it goes on to say that by relying on a robust system of accreditation, all higher education institutions would gradually gain full academic and administrative autonomy.

Kisan Rail Project

Punjab has assured Kerala Government to provide paddy straw for usage as fodder for livestock using the Kisan Rail Project.

Why such move?

Kerala, being a land-stressed coastal state, does not generate enough roughage that can be used as fodder for cattle.

It ranks second in milk production after Punjab.

The move will help Punjab to deal with the excessive paddy straw which contributes to stubble burning.

About Kisan Rail Project

In the Union Budget 2020-21 an announcement was made by the Union Finance Minister regarding the launch of Kisan Rail.

The idea behind running Kisan Rail services is to move perishables including fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fishery and dairy products from production or surplus regions to consumption or deficient regions.

The speedy rail movement would thus ensure minimum damage during transit.

How can farmers transport their produce?

The farmers have to approach the Chief Parcel Supervisor of the Railway Stations from where the Kisan Rail service is scheduled to originate or to have enroute stoppage, along with their consignment.

Due care is taken to ensure that the packing condition is not faulty.

The consignment is weighed and charges are levied as per the prescribed parcel rates (P-scale).

Salient features

50 percent subsidy is given in freight for transportation of fruits and vegetables.

The subsidy is being borne by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries under their Operation Greens – TOP to Total scheme.

There is no minimum limit on quantity that can be booked, enabling small famers to reach bigger and distant markets.

Kisan Rails are based on the concept of multi commodity, multi consignor, multi consignee and multi stoppages – to help small farmers with lesser produce to transport their consignment without any middleman.

Need for such scheme

Farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, often find it difficult to sell their produce in markets beyond a certain distance.

This is primarily due to factors such as non-availability of affordable transport, delay in transit resulting in damage/decay to produce, and unwillingness of road transporters to carry small sized consignments.

Benefits provided

Access to markets: Vast network of Indian Railways enables farmers from remote villages to connect to the mainstream market and sell their agricultural produce.

Helps prevent food wastage: It saves times and encourages farmers to transport their perishables to greater distances and bigger markets.

Getting better deal for farmers: Kisan Rail is a factor enabling improvement in terms of trade for farmers and the real returns received by farmers for their produce.

Doubling farmers’ income: Access to such markets will enable farmers to sell their produce at a better price, which will go a long way in fulfilling Government’s vision of ‘doubling farmers’ income.’

SC orders release of all convicts in Ex-PM Assassin Case

The Supreme Court has ordered for the immediate release of six convicts who are serving life sentence for more than three decades in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

What is the news?

The Bench referred to the case of their former co-convict G. Perarivalan, who was granted premature release by the apex court this year in exercise of its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution.

What does Pardon mean?

A pardon is a government/executive decision to allow a person to be absolved of guilt for an alleged crime or other legal offense as if the act never occurred.

Why need a Pardon?

Pardons can be granted when individuals are deemed to have demonstrated that they have “paid their debt to society”, or are otherwise considered to be deserving of them.

Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who were either wrongfully convicted or who claim that they were wrongfully convicted.

Pardons are sometimes seen as a mechanism for combating corruption, allowing a particular authority to circumvent a flawed judicial process to free someone that is seen as wrongly convicted.

What does Article 161 say?

Article 161 of the Constitution provides the Governor with the power to remit or commute the sentence of any prisoner.

The Governor’s decision will be subject to judicial review by the constitutional courts.

The advice of the State Cabinet is binding on the Governor in matters relating to commutation/remission of sentences under Article 161.

Why did the Supreme Court intervene here?

In its judgment in the Perarivalan case in May, the apex court had held that the State Cabinet’s advice was binding on the Governor under Article 161 (Governor’s power of clemency) of the Constitution.

The Governor had no business forwarding the pardon pleas to the President after sitting on it for years together.

US removes India from its Currency Monitoring List

The United States’ Department of Treasury has removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years for alleged manipulation of Rupee.

What is Currency Manipulation?

Currency manipulation refers to actions taken by governments to change the value of their currencies relative to other currencies in order to bring about some desirable objective.

It is a designation applied by the US Department of the Treasury, to countries that engage in what is called “unfair currency practices” that give them a trade advantage.

The typical claim – often doubtful – is that countries manipulate their currencies in order to make their exports effectively cheaper on the world market and in turn make imports more expensive.

Why do countries manipulate their currencies?

In general, countries prefer their currency to be weak because it makes them more competitive on the international trade front.

A lower currency makes a country’s exports more attractive because they are cheaper on the international market.

For example, a weak Rupee makes Indian exports less expensive for offshore buyers.

Secondly, by boosting exports, a country can use a lower currency to shrink its trade deficit.

Finally, a weaker currency alleviates pressure on a country’s sovereign debt obligations.

After issuing offshore debt, a country will make payments, and as these payments are denominated in the offshore currency, a weak local currency effectively decreases these debt payments.

US treasury’s criteria for currency monitoring

To be labelled a manipulator by the U.S. Treasury:

Countries must at least have a $20 billion-plus bilateral trade surplus with the US

foreign currency intervention exceeding 2% of GDP and a global current account surplus exceeding 2% of GDP

Which are the countries under this list?

China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan are the seven economies that are a part of the current Currency Monitoring List.

China’s failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange rate mechanism.