New Delhi: Law and Justice Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said that the present collegium system of making appointments to the higher judiciary was "opaque" and "non-transparent", but nothing could be done to change it overnight.
"The present system of appointment of judges is opaque and non-transparent," Sibal said in an informal interaction with mediapersons soon after assuming charge of the Law Ministry, given to him as an additional responsibility after the resignation of Ashwani Kumar.
"Appointment to the higher judiciary must be through transparent process, which ensures that persons of impeccable integrity and high competence are appointed," Sibal said, adding that there are short-term and long-term objectives to achieve this.
For achieving the short term objectives, Sibal said, "We need to have consultations with the judiciary." For the long term, "you need to bring law for which existing bills can be passed, if opposition plays ball with the government"....
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11:40 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: With Lok Sabha elections due next year, newly appointed Law Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said he would strive to achieve objectives in the run up, including making legal procedures help fuel economic growth and appointment of judges through a transparent process. Outlining his "broad objectives", Sibal said, "Legal processes and procedures should not be an impediment to economic growth, but must fuel it." He said simplification and...
02:19 PM, May 13, 2013
New Delhi: While the victory in Karnataka has come as a big boost for the Congress, the party-led UPA government has no reason to celebrate in Delhi. Pressure is building up on the government to oust Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, who allegedly ordered changes in CBI's status report on coal scam. Sources say while the Congress is yet to make up its mind on Ashwani's fate, the party is waiting...
08:51 AM, May 09, 2013
The Supreme Court has made scathing remarks on the present government while hearing the coal scam case. It has gone to the extent of labelling it as a massive breach of trust that has shaken the foundations of the country. How does the country's main Opposition party expect the ruling coalition to respond to these allegations? BJP's spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue....
05:00 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Samajwadi Party on Tuesday declined to comment on BJP's demand for the Prime Minister's resignation over the coal scam issue, saying "every party has its own opinion". "We have said it earlier also. The CBI director himself has admitted it so what is there to say?" SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters outside Parliament. He was asked to give his party's view on BJP's demand for resignation...
03:15 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Left parties on Tuesday termed as "meaningless" the demand for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's resignation over the coal allocation issue but asked him to face Parliament as he "owes an answer" to the country. CPI(M) also dubbed the disruption of Parliament as "match fixing" between BJP and Congress. "Demanding resignation of the government is meaningless and it does not happen," CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters outside Parliament....
02:59 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: As the Supreme Court expressed deep concerns over the CBI affidavit on the coal block allocation scam, Lok Sabha on Tuesday was rocked by the issue with the Opposition leaders lambasting the government and accusing it of being corrupt. "I want to tell the country that this government is the most corrupt government in independent India. Parliament is being disrupted because of the corrupt government, not because of...
01:49 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Terming it a "massive breach of trust" and a matter that has "shaken its foundation", the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday took a very serious note of the CBI affidavit on the coal block allocation scam and asserted that the probe agency must be "liberated" and should not be controlled by "political masters". The apex court also slammed the probe agency for having kept the court in...
01:08 PM, Apr 30, 2013
New Delhi: Terming it a "massive breach of trust" and a matter that has "shaken its foundation", the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday took a very serious note of the CBI affidavit on the coal block allocation scam and asserted that the probe agency must be "liberated" and should not be controlled by "political masters". The apex court also slammed the probe agency for having kept the court in...
12:07 PM, Apr 30, 2013
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its affidavit on the coal block allocation scam report with the Supreme Court, in which the agency's director Ranjit Sinha has said the draft of the report was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, a charge that the Congress has been rejecting. The director has also said the draft of the report was even shared with the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) ...
11:49 PM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday filed its affidavit on the coal block allocation scam report with the Supreme Court, in which the agency's director Ranjit Sinha has said the draft of the report was shared with Law Minister Ashwani Kumar "as desired by him", a charge that the Congress has been rejecting. The director has also said the draft of the report was even shared...
11:39 AM, Apr 26, 2013
New Delhi: In what could result in another stand-off between the government and the judiciary, the UPA cabinet is likely to take up proposals for a revamp in the way judges are appointed. The Law Ministry wants judges to be appointed by a Judicial Appointments Commission, which includes members of the executive. The Law Ministry says judges cannot be allowed to decided their own appointments. Currently, a collegium of judges...
09:34 AM, Apr 18, 2013
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sources said on Sunday that the investigative agency will inform the Supreme Court that Law Minister Ashwani Kumar tried to interfere in its status report on the coal scam. Sources also said the CBI will go ahead with its own report and not the one allegedly modified by the Law Minister. They further added that the CBI had attended the meeting on...
10:27 AM, Apr 14, 2013
New Delhi: Against the backdrop of reports that the government had allegedly vetted CBI's report on the coal block allocation scam, Law Minister Ashwani Kumar is learnt to have met top officers on Saturday to discuss the ramifications and the future course of action. Sources said during their meeting Kumar is learnt to have discussed the issue with ministry officials. There are indications that the Law Ministry is inclined to...
11:07 PM, Apr 13, 2013
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party has demanded a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the coal scam alleging that the government is influencing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley has accused the Law Ministry and the Prime Minister's Office of diluting the CBI's status report on the scam. "The autonomous status that CBI has tried to maintained...
01:17 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Former telecom minister A Raja has defended the Telecom Ministry's decision to bypass the Law Ministry in seeking legal opinion of the then Solicitor General GE Vahanvati directly on 2G issue saying it was "perfectly permissible" to approach the law officer in certain cases. Raja told the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G issue that it is "perfectly permissible" for a government department to seek the opinion of a law...
12:01 PM, Mar 31, 2013
The Election Commission has differed with the government on the amendment of law with regard to funding of political parties. ...
11:42 AM, Mar 31, 2013
Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar expressed confidence that the anti-rape law will be tabled in Parliament in the ongoing Budget Session. He also refuted reports that there were fundamental differences within the cabinet over the key provisions in the proposed law. ...
06:17 PM, Mar 12, 2013
Union Law Minister Ashwani Kumar said one of the reasons for not making marital rape an offence under the latest ordinance was that marriage is not deemed to be a contract in India, unlike in other countries. ...
09:00 PM, Mar 10, 2013
Law Minister Ashwani Kumar has dismissed reports of alleged differences between the Home Ministry and the Law Ministry over the proposed new anti-rape bill. ...
08:34 AM, Mar 10, 2013
