What Kiren Rijiju Said About Judiciary In Farewell Post As Law Minister

Shortly after his surprise removal from the Law Ministry, Kiren Rijiju today posted a tweet thanking, among others, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, and all judges for their "huge support".

In a surprise reshuffle, Kiren Rijiju was moved to the Ministry of Earth Sciences and replaced by Arjun Ram Meghwal, who takes over as Law Minister just a year before the national election.

"I thank Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, all Judges of Supreme Court, Chief Justices and Judges of High Courts, Lower Judiciary and entire Law officers for the huge support in ensuring delivering ease of Justice and providing legal services for our citizens," Kiren Rijiju tweeted.

"I look forward to fulfilling the vision of (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi in the Earth Sciences Ministry with the same zeal and vigour I have imbibed as a humble karyakarta of BJP," he said.

Mr Rijiju, a three-term Lok Sabha MP from Arunachal Pradesh, was Sports Minister when he was assigned the Law Ministry on July 7, 2021, following the exit of Ravi Shankar Prasad.

In his brief tenure, Mr Rijiju had several run-ins with the Supreme Court over judicial appointments.

In November last, he had said that the collegium system of judges appointing judges to higher courts was "alien" to the Constitution. In January, he also wrote to Chief Justice Chandrachud for the inclusion of government nominees in the collegium system.