The reason for Indian democracy’s downslide is the collapse of judiciary

Few people know more about India’s courts than Indira Jaising. In a career spanning more than half a century, Jaising has practised both at the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

On this episode of ‘Scroll Adda’, she speaks to Shoaib Daniyal on the ills plaguing the judiciary. Dynasty has taken over the courts, she says, leading to a lack of intellectual development. Bright young lawyers without family contacts are forced to leave litigation.

The judiciary is not doing its job of being a check on the executive. Jaising argues that this government is simply ignoring the Constitution and the courts are unable to stop it. ‘The reason for Indian democracy’s downslide is the collapse of the judiciary,’ she says.

Meanwhile, public movements like the Jantar Mantar protests, sparked by the Chief Justice’s ‘cockroach’ comment, show that anger against the judiciary is boiling over into the streets.

Producer: Raghav Kakkar

Host: Shoaib Daniyal

Editor: Hyder Habib

Chapters

00:00 Precap

02:12 ‘Sons of judges are judges’

13:10 The cosy relationship between collegium and government

21:09 Government is ignoring the Constitution

25:29 Basic structure is dead

31:30 The Ram Mandir judgement

35:50 Corruption and the judiciary

39:30 The fear of contempt of court

45:36 Judges and cockroaches

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