THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- November 28, 2017- Topic 1

Sink your differences: on the executive-judiciary relationship

It is disconcerting that differences between the executive and the judiciary are emerging often in the public domain these days. By raising the question whether the judiciary does not trust the Prime Minister to make fair judicial appointments, and harping on the need to maintain the balance of power between the executive and the judiciary, representatives of the Union government have risked the impression that they are putting the judiciary on the defensive. 

Read between the lines and the executive’s profound dissatisfaction with the state of play in relations between the two wings is evident. Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad is undoubtedly entitled to hold the view that the Supreme Court’s 2015 verdict striking down the law creating the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) reveals the judiciary’s distrust in the Prime Minister and the Law Minister. His question whether an audit is needed to determine what has been lost or gained since the collegium system was created in 1993 is not without merit. However, it is debatable whether these issues should have been raised in public, that too in the presence of the Chief Justice of India and his fraternity. Chief Justice Dipak Misra seemed coerced into responding that the judiciary reposes the same trust that the Constituent Assembly had in the Prime Minister, and that the judiciary indeed recognised and respected the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution. There was really no need for such a public affirmation of first principles in a democracy.

However, it does not mean that major concerns over whether there is real separation of powers, whether public interest litigation has become an interstitial space in which judges give policy directives, and whether the country needs a better system than the present one in which judges appoint judges should be brushed aside. The present collegium system is flawed and lacks transparency, and there is a clear need to have a better and more credible process in making judicial appointments. It is clear that differences over formulating a fresh Memorandum of Procedure for appointments are casting a shadow on the relationship. It is best if both sides take a pragmatic view of the situation and sink their differences on the new procedure, even if it involves giving up a point or two that they are clinging to. For a start, they could both disclose the exact points on which the two sides differ so that independent experts will also have a chance to contribute to the debate. If it is the right to veto a recommendation that the government wants on some limited grounds, the Collegium must not be averse to considering it. Resolution of this matter brooks no further delay.

Vocabulary

Disconcert: disturb the composure of; unsettle.

Example: The abrupt change of subject disconcerted her

Synonyms: unsettle, discomfit, take aback, rattle, unnerve

Harp: talk or write persistently and tediously on a particular topic.

Example: Guys who are constantly harping on about the war

Impression: an imitation of a person or thing, especially one done to entertain.

Example: He did an impression of Frank Sinatra

Synonyms: impersonation, imitation, parody, caricature, burlesque

Defensive: very anxious to challenge or avoid criticism.

Example: He was very defensive about that side of his life

Synonyms: self-justifying, oversensitive, prickly, paranoid, neurotic, uptight

Profound: very great or intense.

Example: Profound social changes

Synonyms: heartfelt, intense, keen, great, extreme, acute, severe

Evident: plain or obvious; clearly seen or understood.

Example: She ate the cookies with evident enjoyment

Synonyms: obvious, apparent, noticeable, conspicuous, perceptible, visible

Reveal: make previously unknown or secret information known to others.

Example: Brenda was forced to reveal Robbie's whereabouts

Synonyms: divulge, disclose, tell, let slip, let drop, give away

Distrust: the feeling that someone or something cannot be relied on.

Example: His distrust of his mother's new suitor

Synonyms: mistrust, suspicion, wariness, chariness, leeriness

Fraternity: a group of people sharing a common profession or interests.

Example: Members of the hunting fraternity

Synonyms: profession, body of workers, band, group, set, circle

Coerce: persuade an unwilling person to do something by using force or threats.

Example: They were coerced into silence

Synonyms: pressure, pressurize, press, push, constrain, force, compel

Interstitial: forming, or occupying interstices.

Example: The interstitial space

Credible: able to be believed; convincing.

Example: Few people found his story credible

Synonyms: believable, plausible, tenable, able to hold water

Pragmatic: dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Example: A pragmatic approach to politics

Synonyms: practical, matter-of-fact, sensible, down-to-earth, commonsensical

Averse: having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.

Example: As a former CIA director, he is not averse to secrecy

Synonyms: opposed to, against, antipathetic to, hostile to, ill-disposed to