The Hindu News Analysis

Op-ed(10/07/18)
Presented By- Naveen Yadav
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Lower Judicial Appointment
• Recruitment to the lower judiciary has been under public scrutiny due to its failure to fill almost
a quarter (23%) of vacancies that persist.
• The recruitment process of district judges is now the subject matter of a public interest litigation
filed in the Supreme Court.
• The matter has now come to a standstill given opposition by States to a centralised selection
mechanism for judges.
• This is not the first time that the Supreme Court has tried to streamline the examination process
for the lower judiciary.
• In Malik Mazhar v. U.P. Public Service Commission (2008), it highlighted the importance of a
prescribed time-schedule for judicial service examinations and laid down stage-wise time lines
for lower judicial appointments — for civil judges (junior division) and district judges (direct
recruitment) in 321 days and 183 days, respectively.
• An examination cycle is calculated from the date of notification to the last date for joining.
• However, such a benchmark has three problems.
• First, the rationale behind arriving at this timeline is unclear.
• Second, it is an inaccurate benchmark to measure performance as it does not consider different
sanctioned strengths .
Lower Judicial Appointment
• Third, strict adherence to such timelines affects aspirants.

• States with lesser sanctioned strengths also see lower numbers of applicants and have a natural
advantage in adhering to the timeline.
• For civil judges, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra have a sanctioned strength of 62 and 1,118,
respectively. Both must finish their recruitment cycles within 321 days. The study found that while
Himachal could complete its cycle within an average of 178 days, it took 443 days for Maharashtra.
• Comparison is unfair, given the wide variance in sanctioned strengths, and, therefore, the
number of applicants.

• Clearly, this court-stipulated timeline does not account for the structural and functional
capacities of States.

• If the timeline is strictly implemented, aspiring candidates will find it impossible to appear for
examinations in multiple States, potentially harming the career opportunities of candidates who
are otherwise eligible for judicial service in multiple States.
Lower Judicial Appointment
• While the idea of a definite timeline is undisputedly a good one, it should be flexible to suit the
administrative and resource capacities of different States.
• The court needs to adopt a more data-driven, methodological basis for such a timeline.
Drugs problem of Punjab
• During the campaign Amarinder Singh, then the Congress’s chief ministerial candidate,
had pledged to eradicate the State’s drug problem within four weeks of coming to power.
• After coming to power, Capt. Singh took little time to set up a Special Task Force (STF) to tackle the
problem.
• The STF claimed to have arrested about 15,000 drug peddlers. It also claimed that the supply line
of drugs had been choked.

• However, with the tightening of supply chains, many turned to cheaper and spurious drugs.
• The last one month witnessed a spurt in deaths due to overdose or usage of spurious drugs.

• The Punjab Cabinet has asked the Centre to amend the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985 to include the death penalty for even first-time offenders.
• It followed this up with a declaration that all 3.4 lakh government employees would have to
undergo a dope test.
• The recommendation of the death penalty for first-time offenders in NDPS cases is a dangerous
overreaction.
Drugs problem of Punjab
• Currently there are about 15,000 convicts and undertrials in jails.
• Most have been booked for carrying minuscule quantities of drugs or banned substances.
• Besides, the courts have already described as unconstitutional an amendment introduced in
2001 providing death penalty for repeat offenders under the NDPS Act.
• The Act was amended in 2014 to remove the provision.

• The test cannot establish whether a person is an addict or not.

• The test can only confirm the presence of narcotics in samples.
• A regular user of heroin may test negative if he or she has abstained for three-four days.
• The government is clearly aiming at the wrong target. It is well-known that the vast majority of
drug addicts are unemployed youth.

• It is this segment of youth who need to be targeted for proactive and preventive measures.
• This can be done by involving volunteers and elders from localities and villages. Families and
teachers need to be put through counselling to identify potential victims and to watch for early
signs of trouble.
Drugs problem of Punjab
• Shockingly, for a State that is well-known for substance abuse, there is no empirical study on the
extent of the problem.
• What is needed is an extensive survey and a well-thought-out strategy to tackle the problem.

• The problem also lies in the poor handling of drug-related cases by police and prosecution
agencies.

• Punjab has gone through several periods of crisis, including militancy during the 1980s and 1990s
when thousands of lives were lost, and is currently in danger of losing too many youngsters to
drugs.
• It requires sensitive handling rather than knee-jerk reactions which can be counterproductive.
Thanks for your
precious time.
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