The Government of India should make the Supreme Court the only court to hear constitutional matters by setting up four appeals courts: Attorney General KK Venugopal
New Delhi : Attorney General KK Venugopal said that for hearing appeals from High Courts, Tribunals and other matters which are currently heard by the Supreme Court, four Courts of Appeal to be set up for disposal of such cases.
The Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, during his speech at the Constitution Day program, said that the present role of the Supreme Court of India should be changed and it should be made a purely constitutional court, dealing only with issues of constitutional interpretation. cases to be heard. AG said that there is no appeal from the Courts of Appeal. We need four such courts with 15 judges each.
He said the strength of the Supreme Court should be reduced to 15 from the existing 34 and it should sit in a combination of three Constitution Benches hearing only constitutional issues.
“The pendency in the Supreme Court would then be reduced. For the Supreme Court of India, it would not need these 34 judges. 15 judges sitting in 3 Constitution Benches of 5 judges would suffice (once the Courts of Appeals are established) The judges will be able to listen patiently and write excellent judgments,” he said.
Venugopal was speaking at the inaugural function of the Constitution Day celebrations organized by the Supreme Court at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi were also present at the event.
Venugopal was prompted to make this remark keeping in view the high pendency of cases before the apex court and the delay involved in disposal of cases.
“A question that has been asked for 75 years is whether the Supreme Court is really a Constitutional Court? It has dealt with all cases from High Courts where there is an error or problem in law..
We see that there are criminal cases pending since 2008 and civil cases since 2009. If it is pending here (Supreme Court), it is pending in lower courts for decades. So a total period of 30 years elapses before justice is done,” Venugopal said.
He said that thirty years is not the right time to decide on any matter and now the time has come for the government and the judiciary to find a solution together.
“The right to get justice is a fundamental right and this access should be done within a reasonable cost and time. 30 years is not a fair time. There is no use brushing this thing under the carpet! Does anyone understand that problem? When a litigant has to suffer they come to the trial court,” he underlined.
“The Supreme Court of India’s (role) needs to be reconsidered. We have inherited an extremely cumbersome system. The cumbersome process has to be done away with,” the AG said.
