UPA government managing judiciary, alleges BJP

NEW DELHI: After West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee's recent remarks against the judiciary, it was main Opposition, BJP's turn to allege that the Centre was 'maneuvering the judiciary in innovative ways' and demanded setting up of a national judicial commission.

"This government is managing the judiciary. We must have the national judicial commission which will take away this kind of discretion from the central government and put it in the hands of a neutral body," BJP leader Yashwant Sinha told reporters here.

Sinha raised questions on the process of appointment of judges. "A judge is appointed on a probation basis for three to six months and only when the government is convinced that he is favourable, his appointment is confirmed... who would have imagined this innovative way of managing the judiciary but this government is doing it," he said.

However, when asked if he was toeing the line taken by the West Bengal chief minister, the BJP leader said he was not repeating her words. "I said we have been told of instances where these kinds of management have taken place. So I am not repeating it in her words. But I am definitely making the statement that this government has created a situation where it is easy to extract a judgment," Sinha said.

Banerjee sparked off a storm last week by alleging in the West Bengal assembly that there were instances when court judgements were "delivered for money" and that there was corruption in a section of judiciary. She tried to clarify later that she had not said all judges were corrupt and had spoken about value-based judiciary, need for judicial reforms, political reforms and administrative reforms.