CJAR criticises SC for 'prioritising VIP cases, ignoring migrant labour'

New Delhi: The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR), a Delhi-based NGO that has among its patrons and members several retired judges and eminent lawyers, on Wednesday said it was deeply concerned over the manner in which the Supreme Court was hearing cases involving the rich and powerful out of turn, and not doing enough to come to the aid of the vulnerable and dispossessed whose lives have been thrown into disarray by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The CJAR notes with deep concern the inadequate and unsatisfactory response of the Supreme Court in coming to the aid of the vulnerable and dispossessed, and mitigating the suffering caused by the governmental response to Covid-19. Though the court has taken measures to limit functioning, we believe that (it) has sacrificed core principles of fairness and transparency in justice delivery while doing so,” the NGO said in a statement. “Unfortunately… the court has taken no consideration of the poor and dispossessed in passing the orders it has during this period of lockdown.” The forum urged the court to address these concerns.

The CJAR pointed that the court had been accepting all that the executive was saying without any demur and not holding the government to account through its powers of judicial review. “Whether on the issue of the rights of migrant labour, the curbs on 4G internet in Kashmir or in important habeas corpus cases, we believe that the court’s passivity in the face of dire need is difficult to comprehend.”