Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that the Supreme Court should fast-track the hearing in the Ayodhya title suit. Speaking at the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad in Lucknow on December 24, he said that if the apex court can hear the Sabarimala petitions on an urgent matter, same can be done with the Ayodhya case also which is pending for a very long time.
Clarifying that he was making this comment in his personal capacity and not as a minister in the central government, he said, “I appeal to the Supreme Court in my personal capacity to hear the Ram Janmabhoomi issue like fast-track court for a prompt disposal of the case.”
“When the Supreme Court can give its verdict on the Sabarimala Temple case promptly, why is the Ram Janmabhoomi issue pending for the past 70 years,” the minister asked. He also said why we must Babar. He said that the Constitution mentions Ram, Krishna, even Akbar, but Babar is not mentioned. He added that a different kind of controversy is created when people talk about such topics.
The Union Law Minister also made a significant announcement that an all India judicial services system may be formed for the appointment of judges in future. Recently, the Niti Ayog also had suggested an All-India judicial services examination on a ranking basis to maintain high standards in the judiciary, as a part of judicial and legal reforms. A report prepared by the Ayog said that UPSC may be entrusted with the responsibility to select judges for lower judiciary, Indian Legal Service, public prosecutors, legal advisors and legal draftsmen.
The union government is trying to form a consensus to bring an all-India service to recruit judges for the lower judiciary, but it has met with opposition from judges at several high courts. The proposal to set up an All-India Judicial Service (AIJS) was first mooted in 1961, but it has not materialised so far.