The crisis in the judiciary is symptomatic of a wider crisis being felt in all significant constitutional institutions and requires introspection on a far wider scale than is assumed.
AS INDIA MARKED THE 68TH ANNIVERSARY of the adoption of its Constitution on January 26, 2018, concerns were expressed about the overall health of the Republic. Much of this concern has focussed on the state of the Indian judiciary in particular. The Indian judiciary is widely and justifiably regarded as a pivotal institution that has sustained its constitutional order through perilous times. Although there were clear signs of tensions within the Supreme Court in recent months, matters reached a flashpoint when four of the most senior judges of the Supreme Court held a press conference on January 12, 2018.
This single event generated an enormous amount of controversy, speculation and media commentary. It also focussed attention on the internal workings of the Supreme Court and the Indian judiciary as a whole. This singular event has the potential of bringing an end to an unspoken agreement among the media and commentators to maintain a culture of discretion and secrecy about the workings of the judiciary. Given the increasingly prominent role played by the Supreme Court in Indian public life, this agreement may have ended on its own but the end has been hastened considerably by this event.
My principal aim in this essay is to place this complex institution in it's wider historical and political context to contend, firstly, that the quickfix solutions suggested by some quarters may require greater reflection. A second purpose is to argue that the malaise within the judiciary that this episode points towards is a reflection of a widespread problem that afflicts constitutional institutions in the nation more generally. Any solutions that are devised for resolving the judicial crisis need to be informed by the historical context of institutional design that led to the creation of these institutions and the problems that afflict the polity as a whole in the contemporary period.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
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