CJI concerned over ruckus and lack of discussion on Bills in Parliament

New Delhi, Aug 15 (UNI) Chief Justice of India NV Ramanna on Sunday raised concern over the manner of passing Bills in Parliament, and said there is lack of clarity on Bills due to lack of debate, causing loss to both government and common people.
The Chief Justice was speaking at the 75th Independence Day function organized by the Supreme Court Bar Association, where he rued the fact that there is not enough debate on Bills, nor is the level of debate as it used to be.
Ramanna also pointed out that the independence struggle was led by lawyers, and urged lawyers to participate actively in social life instead of being focused just on earning money.
“We have seen in the independence struggle, led by all lawyers. Take any national level leaders… all are legal luminaries,” he said, adding that a large number of members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha as well as state assemblies used to be lawyers historically.
“Unfortunately over time, you know what is happening in the Houses. If you see the debate that used to take place in the Houses in those days it is very very wise, constructive, and they used to debate any legislation they are making,” he said.
“Different laws used to be debated and deliberated, so the burden of courts while interpreting or implementing the law is less, so we had a clear picture of the legislative part, why they are making such legislation,” the Chief Justice said.
He said there was a “sorry state of affairs” at present, and a lot of “gap and ambiguity” in making laws.
“Now there is a sorry state of affairs, we see a lot of gaps, a lot of ambiguity in making laws. There is no clarity in laws. We don’t know what purpose the law is serving… which is creating a lot of litigation, inconvenience, loss to government as well as inconvenience to the public,” Ramanna said.
The Chief Justice further added: “This is what happens when intellectuals and professionals like lawyers are not there in the Houses.”
While he said he did not want to speak more on the topic, he called upon lawyers to actively participate in social and public life.
“I don’t want to say more on this. This is a time when lawyers have to participate actively in social life, public life, and don’t confine yourself to earning money and living comfortably. Please think over, we must do some good service,” he added.
The Chief Justice’s comments come days after the Monsoon Session of Parliament was washed out and a number of Bills were passed in din. Opposition parties demanded a debate Pegasus snooping controversy and other issues, which was not allowed by the government leading to repeated protests and disruptions.
In this Session, 15 Bills were introduced, all of which were passed. Parliament passed 20 Bills during the session. On average, a Bill was discussed for 34 minutes in the Lok Sabha and 46 minutes in Rajya Sabha in the Monsoon Session.