Accountability and the Ministry of Law & Justice

            Title: The Systemic Crisis: Is India's Law Ministry Undermining the Rule of                  Law and Public Accountability?

 

                                         Introduction: The Guardian Under Scrutiny

The Ministry of Law & Justice (MoLJ) stands as the principal guardian of India's legal framework, responsible for ensuring the uniform application of central statutes and the accountability of the government. When allegations point not merely to administrative oversight, but to a "deliberate and coordinated pattern of statutory sabotage" originating from this very Ministry, it signals a profound threat to the foundations of Indian democracy.

An examination of the Ministry's practices, across its Department of Justice (DOJ) and Legislative Department (MoLAW), reveals alarming failures in compliance with three pivotal acts: The RTI Act, the Public Records Act, and the Notaries Act.

Part I: The Triad of Statutory Non-Compliance

1. Sabotage of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005

The RTI Act mandates an "informed citizenry" and requires public authorities to operate with maximum transparency. However, the MoLJ is allegedly creating a "systemic obstruction of democratic audit architecture":

  • Failure of Proactive Disclosure (Sec 4): A public authority must proactively publish its organizational structure, powers, and duties. Critically, the Ministry has been cited for its failure to fully list its records as "duly catalogued and indexed" (Sec 4(1)(a)).
  • Obstructing Constitutional Correspondence: A key transparency lapse is the alleged non-disclosure of the Secretary’s official email ID or contact details (Sec 4(1)(b)(xvi)). This omission is not a minor bureaucratic slip; it actively disables citizens from triggering custodianship duties and formal communication with the highest administrative office, intentionally paralyzing the mechanism of public accountability.

2. Sabotage of the Public Records Act, 1993

This Act is vital for preserving the nation's public memory and the official "evidence of governance." The allegations here are devastating for transparency:

  • Custodianship Collapse: The Ministry is failing to preserve override notifications, formal inter-departmental correspondence, and enforcement trails, which are crucial public records (breaching Sections 4, 5, and 6).
  • The Loss of Institutional Memory: The claim that "custodianship indexing has collapsed" and that records are not being appropriately transferred to the National Archives means that the official history of key executive decisions is being erased or rendered inaccessible, making it impossible for auditors, scholars, and future governments to trace the rationale behind enforcement policies.

3. Sabotage of the Notaries Act, 1952

The MoLJ is directly responsible for ensuring central laws are enforced uniformly. Shockingly, the Ministry/DOJ is accused of:

  • Tolerating Override by State Authorities: Evidence exists—such as a specific Jharkhand High Court Notification—showing High Courts are effectively "overriding the Act", but the Ministry has failed to monitor, record, or act upon this evidence.
  • Enforcement Without Clarity: By implementing the Act without seeking or disclosing legal opinions from the Legislative Department (MoLAW) on these overrides, the Ministry risks sanctioning an environment where State-level judicial actions supersede central statutes without any "norms, procedures, or override logic."

Part II: The Role of the Secretary, MoLJ, and the Consequence for Democracy

The accountability for these systemic failures rests squarely with the highest office of the Ministry: The Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice.

As the administrative head and the Government’s chief legal advisor, the Secretary's role is non-negotiable across these three axes:

Area of Responsibility

Consequence of Failure on Democracy

Integrity of Records (PRA, 1993)

The failure to maintain and index records transforms the MoLJ into a black box. Opacity replaces transparency, allowing decisions to be made and laws to be enforced without a traceable paper trail, severely compromising the democratic audit process.

Proactive Accountability (RTI Act, 2005)

The alleged refusal to list the Ministry on the national RTI portal and the non-disclosure of the Secretary's contact details create an institutional shield against direct citizen scrutiny. This suggests a strategic attempt to deflect responsibility by misusing inter-departmental silos (DOJ/MoLAW) to "evade reply, certification, and statutory enforcement."

Uniform Rule of Law (Notaries Act, 1952)

The acquiescence to state authorities overriding a central statute compromises the fundamental constitutional principle of uniform Rule of Law across India. This failure undermines the supremacy of Parliament and breeds legal inconsistency, which is a dangerous precedent for a federal democracy.

Export to Sheets

Conclusion: A Call to Restore Statutory Integrity

The law ministry must be a model of compliance, not a source of statutory failure. These alleged acts—the disappearance of records, the obstruction of RTI, and the silent sanctioning of statutory overrides—collectively point to a custodianship collapse that threatens the very ability of citizens to hold their government accountable.

Restoring the faith in India’s legal institutions requires immediate, non-negotiable action: the full disclosure of records, the restoration of custodianship indexing, and the commitment of the Secretary, MoLJ, to operate with absolute transparency as mandated by law. The integrity of India's democracy demands nothing less.

 

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