NEW DELHI: His tussles with the Supreme Court resulted in shunting of Kiren Rijiju as the union law minister in a terse order by President Murmu on Thursday and he is replaced by Rajasthan’s Arjun ram Meghwal, who was so far the minister of state for parliamentary affairs.Kiren Rijiju(51) took over as the Law and Justice Minister on July 8, 2021. Prior to this, he served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs and Sports from May 2019 to July 2021. A law graduate from Delhi University, Rijiju is a three-time Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh.
“As advised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reallocated portfolios among ministers in the Union Council of Ministers. “The portfolio of (the) Ministry of Earth Sciences be assigned to Kiren Rijiju,” a Rashtrapati Bhawan statement read.
Meghwal(69) served as an IAS officer in various capacity and joined the BJP on retirement to be elected to the Lok Sabha from Bikaner since 2009.
Its Press communique also said Meghwal will have an independent charge as Minister of State for Law and Justice. Also, Rijiju’s MoS Prof. S P Singh Baghel has been shifted to the Ministry of Health and Famil Planning.
There were half a dozen tussles by Rijiju with the Supreme Court. These are:
1. Kiren Rijiju’s letter to CJI Chandrachud
Since last year, there has been an ongoing tussle between the Centre and the Supreme Court regarding the system of appointment of High Court and Supreme Court judges. In January 2023, Rijiju wrote a letter to Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, suggesting the inclusion of a government nominee in the decision-marking process for shortlisting of judges.
2. Rijiju on SC revealing Govt objections
In the same month, Rijiju said that the apex court making public “secret or sensitive reports” on the Centre’s objections to the appointment of three advocates as High Court judges was a “grave concern”. Responding to questions from reporters on the Supreme Court’s move, Rijiju said that “putting the secret or sensitive reports of R&AW or IB in public domain is a matter of grave concern”.
3. Rijiju backs Delhi HC judge who said SC ‘hijacked’ constitution
Escalating the issue then, Rijiju also shared an interview clip of a retired Delhi HC judge who said the Supreme Court had “hijacked” the Constitution by deciding to appoint its own judges. “Actually majority of the people have similar sane views,” Rijiju said in a tweet in January.
4. ‘Calibrated effort’ to turn judiciary against Govt: Rijiju
In March, speaking at the India Today Conclave, Rijiju flagged what he called “a calibrated effort” to undermine the Indian judiciary and turn it against the government. Rijiju also criticised the Supreme Court Collegium’s decision to make public its reasons for reiterating the names recommended for the appointment of judges and the government’s objections to some of them.
5. Few judges part of ‘anti-India’ gang, Rijiju says
In the same Conclave, Rijiju said that a few retired judges were part of an “anti-India gang” and are forcing the judiciary to play the role of an Opposition party. He warned that “those working against the country will have to pay a price”.
“Recently, there was a seminar on accountability of judges. But somehow the entire seminar became how the executive is affecting the judiciary. There are a few judges who are activists and are part of an anti-India gang which is trying to turn judiciary against the government like the Opposition parties,” Rijiju said.
6. Rijiju’s dissatisfaction with performances of fast track courts
Rijiju has also raise concern over his dissatisfaction with the performance of fast track special courts (FTSCs) in certain states and asked their Chief Ministers and High Court Chief Justices to do “much more”.
“Presently, I am not very satisfied with how these FTSCs are functioning. That is why I reiterated in the joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices that I will devote our time to this. I want the judiciary and government to come together. We have to raise the level of our efforts,” Rijiju said, adding that effects of legislative actions “must trickle down to the ground”.
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