The lower judiciary was committing illegalities and disregarding judgments of higher courts, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Monday in the legislative assembly and called for reorientation of judicial officers."It is disturbing that in disregard to the provisions of law which have been held to be mandatory, and in sheer disregard to the judgements of the High Courts/Supreme Court, some orders are passed, paying scant respect to the provisions of law," Parrikar said.The chief minister who has criticised the functioning of lower courts as well as the National Green Tribunal in the past, said that his "government cannot countenance such a position and would not be a mute spectator to such illegality".
His comments come at a time when the Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha warned ruling politicians against encroaching judicial space a day after parliament passed a bill for setting up a new system for appointing judges.Parrikar also said that judicial officers needed to be re-oriented so that the faith of the common man in judiciary remained intact."After going through all these judgments and different legal stands taken by various magistrates, I personally feel there is a need to re-orient the judicial officers so that reasoned and judicious verdicts are pronounced and the faith of the common man remains intact," the chief minister said.Calling some lower judicial rulings as a "serious matter", Parrikar said that we "cannot certainly watch the trampling of Constitutional distribution of powers" and that his government would bring the same to the notice of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as well as the chief justice of the Bombay High Court.