New Delhi: Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said on Monday that an epidemic or disaster can be best handled by the executive.
Speaking to the press about how judiciary is dealing with the Covid-19 crisis, the CJI said: “Men, money and materials - how are these to be used and prioritised is something for the executive to decide.”
According to Justice Bobde, three organs of the democracy – parliament, executive and judiciary - should work in harmony to get over the crisis. About the role of judiciary in safeguarding rights of people, Justice Bobde said: “We will do our best we can. We have tried to ensure shelter, food and medics facilities to everyone but we aren't in the fields, is also a reality.”
The CJI was emphatic that judiciary will definitely interfere when there are transgressions of rights but not in everything and every time.
“Executive can't endanger lives of people and we will interfere whenever that happens,” said the judge, adding all the judges were doing the best they can to tide over the disaster. On being asked about the allegation that judiciary is perhaps toeing the line of the government in these matters, he pointed out that in all the cases relating to Covid-19, the court asked the executive about the steps being taken so as to satisfy itself.
Earlier in the day, advocate Prashant Bhushan raised the questions as to whether the Supreme Court was blindly believing everything that the government was saying through reports, affidavits and verbal statements.
Arguing for a PIL relating to migrant workers, Bhushan had asked why the statements being made by the government were not being subject to scrutiny and verification. These submissions had made one of the judges on the bench, namely Justice Sanjay K Kaul, to react sharply. “If you don’t have faith on us, what is the point of hearing this petition? Whatever we may can be criticized then.”
Justice Kaul had added: “You say you have been with this institution for 30 years. You know there are some orders that are favourable and then there are some that won’t be. So, you should not say such things.” Later, the bench issued notices to the government and others seeking a reply within a week on movement of migrant workers back to their native states.
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