Topic Of The Day:-“Justice in tumult: on the turmoil in Supreme Court”
There is absolutely no doubt that the Chief Justice of India is the master of the roster. So, it is impossible to dispute the legal reasoning behind Chief Justice Dipak Misra’s ruling that no one but he can decide the composition of Benches and allocation of judicial work in the Supreme Court. However, the circumstances in which he had to assert this authority have the potential to greatly diminish the court’s lustre. The scenes witnessed in the court amidst troubling allegations of possible judicial corruption are worrisome for their capacity to undermine the high esteem that the judiciary enjoys. Chief Justice Misra chose to stick to the letter of the law, but there remain troublesome questions about potential conflict of interest in his decision to overrule Justice J. Chelameswar’s extremely unusual order that delineated the composition of a Constitution Bench to hear a writ petition seeking a fair probe into the corruption allegations. It is a fact that in the Prasad Education Trust case, the petitions alleging that some individuals, including a retired Orissa High Court judge, were plotting to influence the Supreme Court, had been heard by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Misra. However, it would be perverse and irresponsible to attribute corrupt motives without compelling evidence. At the same time, by heading the Bench himself, the Chief Justice may have contributed to the perception that he will preside over a hearing in his own cause, rather than leaving it to another set of judges to reiterate the legal position on who has the sole say in deciding the roster. Justice Chelameswar, the senior-most puisne judge, may have passed his order based on the petitioner’s claim that there would be a conflict of interest were the Chief Justice to choose the Bench. But in doing so, he chose to ignore the principle that allocation of judicial work is the preserve of the Chief Justice. Both justices may have found themselves in a situation in which law and strict propriety do not converge. As for the lawyer-activists involved, it is one thing to flag corruption, another to foster the impression that they want to choose the judges who will hear them. The only way to end the current turmoil in the judicial and legal fraternity is to ensure that the Central Bureau of Investigation holds an impartial probe in the case registered by it. The involvement of serving judges may only be a remote possibility, but it is vital to find out whether the suspected middlemen had any access to them. Unfortunate fallout of the controversy is the perception of a rift among the country’s top judges. To some, the charges may represent an attempt to undermine the judiciary. These perceptions should not result in the sidestepping of the real issue raised by the CBI’s FIR: the grim possibility of the judiciary being susceptible to corruption. Tumult and turmoil should not overshadow this substantive issue.
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Assert
Meaning: State a fact or belief confidently and forcefully.
Example: “the company asserts that the cuts will not affect development”
Synonyms: Declare, Maintain
2) Diminish
Meaning: Make or become less.
Example: “the new law is expected to diminish the government’s chances”
Synonyms: Decrease, Decline
Antonyms: Increase
3) Lustre
Meaning: A gentle sheen or soft glow.
Example: “the lustre of the Milky Way”
Synonyms: Gleam, Glimmer
Antonyms: Dullness, Darkness
4) Worrisome
Meaning: Causing anxiety or concern.
Example: “a worrisome problem”
Synonyms: Worrying, Alarming
5) Esteem
Meaning: Respect and admiration.
Example: “he was held in high esteem by colleagues”
Synonyms: Respect, Admiration
Antonyms: Disrespect
6) Troublesome
Meaning: Causing difficulty or annoyance.
Example: “schools are removing troublesome pupils”
Synonyms: Annoying, Irritating
Antonyms: Simple, Cooperative
7) Delineated
Meaning: Describe or portray (something) precisely.
Example: “the law should delineate and prohibit behaviour which is socially abhorrent”
Synonyms: Describe, Present
8) Plotting
Meaning: Secretly make plans to carry out (an illegal or harmful action).
Example: “the two men are serving sentences for plotting a bomb campaign”
Synonyms: Plan, Arrange
9) Perverse
Meaning: Showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable.
Example: “Kate’s perverse decision not to cooperate held good”
Synonyms: Awkward, Difficult
Antonyms: Accommodating, Cooperative
10) Roster
Meaning: A list or plan showing turns of duty or leave for individuals or groups in an organization.
Example: “next week’s duty roster”
Synonyms: List, Register
11) Puisne
Meaning: (in the UK and some other countries) denoting a judge of a superior court inferior in rank to chief justices.
12) Propriety
Meaning: The condition of being right, appropriate, or fitting.
Example: “they questioned the propriety of certain investments made by the council”
Synonyms: Rightness, Correctness
Antonyms: Impropriety
13) Converge
Meaning: Tend to meet at a point.
Example: “a pair of lines of longitude are parallel at the equator but converge toward the poles”
Synonyms: Meet, Cross
Antonyms: Separate, Diverge
14) Fraternity
Meaning: A group of people sharing a common profession or interests.
Example: “members of the hunting fraternity”
Synonyms: Profession, Association
15) Perception
Meaning: The way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted.
Example: “‘He wouldn’t have accepted,’ said my mother with unusual perception”
Synonyms: Insight, Sharpness
16) Sidestepping
Meaning: Avoid dealing with or discussing (something problematic or disagreeable).
Example: “he neatly sidestepped the questions about riots”
Synonyms: Avoid, Evade
Antonyms: Tackle
17) Susceptible
Meaning: (of a person) easily influenced by feelings or emotions; sensitive.
Example: “they only do it to tease him—he’s too susceptible”
Synonyms: Impressionable, Vulnerable
Antonyms: Doubtful, Dubious
18) Tumult
Meaning: A loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people.
Example: “a tumult of shouting and screaming broke out”
Synonyms: Rumpus, Commotion
Antonyms: Silence
19) Overshadow
Meaning: Be more impressive or successful than (another person).
Example: “he was always overshadowed by his brilliant elder brother”
Synonyms: Outshine, Eclipse
20) Substantive
Meaning: Having a firm basis in reality and so important, meaningful, or considerable; Having a separate and independent existence.
Example: “there is no substantive evidence for the efficacy of these drugs”
