O Joy questions non-appointment of CJ, judges
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, August 19 2023: Questioning the non-appointment of the Chief Justice and judges of Manipur High Court especially when the state is in turmoil; veteran politician O Joy said that the non-appointment of key posts of the judiciary, which is required as per the Constitution and the law itself, indicates that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims of standing for Manipur is all bogus.

Addressing a press meet held at Manipur Press Club here on Saturday, Joy enquired how and where PM Modi is standing for Manipur, considering the non-appointment of judges which are much required during the prevailing conflict in the state.

While one chief justice was appointed temporarily for a month, two selected chief justice candidates were not allowed to join the post, which is, in turn, denying the people of Manipur of their fundamental rights.

The claims by some national leaders of standing in support of Manipur are all bogus, and this fact should be understood by the people of Manipur, he asserted.

Informing that a memorandum with regard to this matter had already been submitted to the governor, the veteran politician said that both the central and state governments need to understand the seriousness of the matter.

He mentioned that a memorandum was sent to the union law minister and the Chief Justice of Supreme Court on August 17 as a reminder so as to ensure justice is delivered to the people of Manipur.

In addition, another written request was sent on the same day for appointing the judges for clearing the election petition and other pending cases of the court.

Joy continued that under Section 86 (7) of Representation of People's Act, any election petition filed after the polls are to be resolved within six months.

Even if some of the cases reach the Supreme Court, the matter must be resolved within six months at the earliest, as per the direction of the apex court.

As such, there are presently 36 election cases filed in Manipur after the polls.

On top of this, there are other 5519 cases pending in the High Court.

This record is upto June 3 last year.

Thus, a written request was first sent to the union law ministry on March 28 this year for disposal of the pending cases at the earliest.

At present, the Manipur High Court has only three out of the five compulsory judges.

Amid this, the previous chief justice left for the Supreme Court, making the chief justice post of the High Court vacant.

The acting chief justice has been in charge for around eight months.

After much deliberation by the CJI, Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur of Kashmir was sent to Manipur but he could not join the post.

When the conflict broke out, Justice Siddharth Mridul was sent but he also is yet to join the post, he conveyed.

Stating that the state government needs to understand the Memorandum of Procedure, Joy said that the PM, home minister and CJI should be aware of the fact that an acting chief justice cannot hold the post for more than a month and that the pbst of a chief justice should not stay vacant.

Thus, it is questionable why even after the Supreme Court had recommended two chief justices, the appointments are not being followed through, he remarked.

The veteran politician continued that the Supreme Court has already laid down the guidelines i.e., the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of a chief justice of a state.

The Procedure should be completed a month before the post becomes vacant.

In addition, a chief justice of any high court in India can be transferred to another high court at any given time.

The Procedure also emphasises on how long an acting chief justice can hold the post among other important things, he said.

Contending that the most important role of a government is to establish a strong judiciary, Joy mentioned that after the Indian Parliament Act was implemented by the then British Parliament, Manipur enacted the Manipur Constitution Act, 1947.In 1948, the first election was held in Manipur and Manipur's first independent government came into being.

Before its merger with India, the then independent Manipur government had its chief justice with two other justices, he recounted.

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