By IANS,
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said it was not proper for high courts to routinely summon government officials just to satisfy their egos. The court said that it should only be done in rare and exceptional cases.
The court said that judges should have “modesty and humility” in exercising their power, otherwise it may play havoc.
“If we do not respect each other (the judiciary and the executive) the system will collapse,” the court said.
“We are pained to observe that despite our decision many high courts are persisting in summoning executive officials where it was not absolutely necessary to summon them,” said the apex court bench of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra in their order Wednesday.
The court said this while setting aside the interim order of the Allahabad High Court Nov 13, 2003 and Dec 18, 2003 summoning the principal secretary, Finance, along with principal secretary, medical and health, of the Uttar Pradesh government, respectively.