Leading jurist Soli J Sorabjee on Friday said that the mafia rules the country and not the rule of law as it is supposed to be.
Delivering his lecture on “Judicial Activism - Boon or Bane”, which was organised here by National Institute of Advanced Studies, Sorabjee said: “In some places, including Mumbai, people are going to mafia to get their disputes settled and to get their houses vacated. People have lost faith in the efficacy of the judiciary and the legal system of the country. It might take years if they go to the courts to get their disputes settled but, the mafia settles them immediately.”
While blaming the judiciary, advocates and the administrative set up for the present state of affairs, Sorabjee said: “The advocates are to be held responsible to a greater extent as they seek adjournments repeatedly for simple reasons and succeed in getting them due to the inefficacy of the public prosecutors who do not seriously pursue their cases. The judiciary, advocates and the investigating agencies should work together with determination to set the things right if the situation has to change.”
Highlighting the need to constitute the National Judicial Commission to appoint judges, Sorabjee said: “In the lower courts the judges are appointed on the basis of merit, but the collegium system in which the judges appoint the judges to the high courts and the supreme court there is ample scope for the judges to select their relatives and friends for the post. India is the only country where the judges appoint the judges.”
According to Sorabjee judicial activism has enabled the judiciary to frame guidelines in areas that are not touched by the legislation. However, the judiciary should not trespass into the administrative domain in the name of judicial activism.