Jaitley out just when his reforms kick in

The new law is potentially the strongest ever attack on the mounting problem of court arrears. The CPC Amendment Act 2002 seeks to speed up the judicial proceedings by fixing time limits for every stage of litigation—summons, defence statement, recording of evidence, oral arguments and delivery of judgment. Further, it introduces speedier methods of communication—email and private couriers—in the court process.

But given the vested interest of the bar and the bench in the status quo, Jaitley was expected to play an activist role to try and ensure that the CPC reforms are actually worked to the advantage of the litigants. After all, the notorious delays in civil courts are said to have affected not just individual litigants but also prospective foreign investments in the country.

Equally important, the implementation of the Civil Procedure Code amendments was expected to pave the way for reforms to the Criminal Procedure Code as well.

Jaitley’s exit from the Government also comes days after he called an all-party meeting on July 8 to discuss the fallout of the Supreme Court judgment requiring election candidates to make a whole lot of disclosures about themselves.

Last Friday, the Election Commission came up with a controversial order purportedly giving effect to the Supreme Court verdict. In fact, the Commission went beyond the judgment by directing that returning officers could reject the nominations of candidates who fail to make the mandated disclosures or, alternatively, give false or incomplete information.

Given the far reaching implications of the Commission’s order to candidates and political parties, the already proposed July 8 meeting has assumed greater significance. If Jaitley still participates in that meeting, he will do so only as a representative of the BJP in a gathering that, ironically, he had himself called as a minister.

The July 8 meeting called by the Law Ministry is also due to discuss the highly sensitive proposal of setting up a National Judicial Commission, including members from outside the judiciary, to decide judicial appointments.

Jaitley’s strategy was to evolve a political consensus before trying to undo the primacy currently enjoyed by the judiciary in making appointments to their ranks. Thus, the proposed judicial commission is another unfinished agenda of Jaitley’s 20-month tenure in the Law Ministry, marked by a flurry of legislative activity.