Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana lamented the sorry state of affairs of law-making and Parliamentary debate in the country and stated that a lot of ambiguity in laws which was triggering litigation and causing inconvenience to citizens, courts and other stakeholders.
While speaking on the occasion of the 75th Independence Day celebrations held at the Supreme Court lawns, Chief Justice Ramana rued how the standards of law-making had fallen over the years. He said “Now it is a sorry state of affairs. There is a lot of ambiguity in the laws. We don’t know for what purpose they are made. They are causing a lot of litigation and inconvenience to the people, courts.”
The CJI’s observations follow closely after the Parliament cleared the Tribunal’s Reforms Bill of 2021, which has sought the abolishment of as many as nine appellate tribunals, including the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunals despite Opposition charge that the legislation undermined the independence of the judiciary. The Bill has also revived provisions of tenure and service of Tribunals’ Members which were earlier struck down by the Supreme Court in a judgment.
Chief Justice Ramana said the lack of intellectual heft witnessed in the House could be remedied if more lawyers actively participated in public life rather than confine themselves to their legal practice and homes. He said leaders of the Independence struggle were lawyers, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
The CJI also noted that the fundamental right of access to justice was evident from the fact that India’s legal services aid machinery catered to 75% of its total population. The Chief Justice said seminars and legal workshops were being planned for the Constitution Day.
