'Matter Of Grave Concern': Law Minister Kiren Rijiju Objects To SC Making IB, RAW Reports Public

Rijiju claimed that intelligence agency employees, who serve the country in secret, would "think twice" in the future if their findings were made public.

New Delhi: The release to the public of some sensitive information from the Intelligence Bureau and Research and Analysis Wing by the Supreme Court Collegium, according to law minister Kiren Rijiju, is a "matter of grave concern," reported news agency PTI. He claimed that intelligence agency employees, who serve the country in secret, would "think twice" in the future if their findings were made public.

He was responding to inquiries regarding several recent resolutions of the Supreme Court Collegium, which were made public last week and featured portions of IB and RAW reports on specific candidates proposed by the top court for appointment as high court justices.

In spite of rejecting intelligence inputs, the Collegium had repeated the names to the government earlier this month.

"Putting the sensitive or secret reports of RAW and IB in public domain is a matter of grave concern on which I will react at an appropriate time," Rijiju told reporters at a Law Ministry event.

He further said: “The concerned officer who is working for the nation at a secret location, when his or her report is put in the public domain, it will have an implication for him or her.”

The minister, who has disagreed with the judiciary, particularly regarding the collegium system of appointing judges, stated that he disagrees with claims that his comments on the appointment process have compromised the judiciary's independence.

“I am not commenting and nobody should make any kind of comment on judicial orders. Certain comments have been made that my comments have compromised the independence of the judiciary The process of appointments is an administrative matter. It has nothing to do with judicial pronouncements,” Rijiju said.

He stated that he has come across statements and tweets suggesting that disparaging the Supreme Court's National Judicial Appointments Commission or the Memorandum of Procedure for Judge Appointment amounts to lowering its dignity.

"In India, no one asserts that they will defy orders from the courts. The administrative procedure is completely distinct from judicial orders," he stated.

In the meantime, the law minister seemed to be trying to calm things down when he said that the e-committee of the Supreme Court and the justice department can only work together to solve the 4.9 crore cases that are still pending.