A Strong Judiciary is the Ultimate Guarantee For the Rule of Law: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana
(Judicial Quest News Network)
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said on Saturday that a strong judiciary is the Ultimate Guarantee for the rule of law.
CJI was delivering inaugural “Justice S.B Sinha Memorial Lecture” on “life of a judge” being organised by national University of Study & Research in law in Ranchi.
He further said that the life of a Judge is not that easy as a common man thinks, one has to make many sacrifices after becoming a judge.
During his lecture he recounted that
“I was born in a family of farmers in a village. English was introduced when I was in the 7th or 8th standard. Passing 10th grade was considered a great achievement. After obtaining a BSc degree, encouraged by my father, I finally ended up with a degree in law.”
I began my practice in a magistrate court in Vijayawada for a few months. Once again, encouraged by my father, I moved to Hyderabad to begin my practice in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh. It was definitely a leap of faith for me.
By the time I received the offer for judgeship, I had established a good practice. I had appeared from Taluq level courts to the Supreme Court in several high profile matters. I was also appointed as the Additional Advocate General of my State. I was keen on joining active politics, but destiny desired otherwise. The decision to give up something, for which I had worked so hard, was not easy at all.
The CJI said that People often complain about the long pendency of cases at all levels of the Indian judicial system. On multiple occasions, I have highlighted the issues leading to pendency and backlog. I have been strongly advocating the need to revamp the infrastructure, both physical and personnel, to enable the judges to function to their full potential.
One of the biggest challenges before the current day judiciary is prioritising the matters for adjudication. The judges cannot turn a blind eye to the social realities. The Judge has to give priority to the pressing matters in order to save the system from avoidable conflicts and burdens.
In his speech the CJItouched upon important issues and said on this occasion, I shall not fail to place on record my worries about the future of judiciary in this country. Every case is equally important for a judge. The burden on an already fragile judicial infrastructure is increasing by the day. There have been a few knee jerk reactions in augmenting infrastructure in a few places. However, I haven’t heard of any concrete plan to equip the judiciary to meet the challenges of the foreseeable future, leave alone, a long term vision for the century and ahead.
Judges and judiciary have no power or authority to introduce a uniform system. The executive also has its own limitations, as it may not be able to appreciate the needs of the judiciary. It is only with the coordinated efforts by the judiciary and the executive that this alarming issue of infrastructure can be addressed.
In my opinion, the need of the hour is to initiate a multi-disciplinary study, where scientific methods can be used to equip our judiciary for the future. With the growth of the economy and population, a sustainable method of dispensation of justice needs to be modelled. The reality, given the current situation, is that we are simply not equipped to handle the rising challenges of the future. If the judiciary suffers, our democracy suffers. This is a serious issue.
Doing justice is not an easy responsibility. It is becoming increasingly challenging with each passing day.
At times, there are also concerted campaigns in media, particularly on social media against judges. Another aspect which affects the fair functioning and independence of judiciary is the rising number of media trials.
New media tools have enormous amplifying ability but appear to be incapable of distinguishing between the right and the wrong, the good and the bad and the real and the fake. Media trials cannot be a guiding factor in deciding cases.
Of late, we see the media running kangaroo courts, at times on issues even experienced judges find difficult to decide.
Ill-informed and agenda driven debates on issues involving justice delivery are proving to be detrimental to the health of democracy. Biased views being propagated by media are affecting the people, weakening democracy, and harming the system. In this process, justice delivery gets adversely affected. By overstepping and breaching your responsibility, you are taking our democracy two steps backwards.
Owing to the frequent transgressions and consequent social unrests, there is a growing demand for stricter media regulations and accountability. In fact, looking at recent trends, it is best for the media to self-regulate and measure their words. You should not overstep and invite interference, either from the government or from the courts. Judges may not react immediately. Please don’t mistake it to be a weakness or helplessness. When liberties are exercised responsibly, within their domains, there will be no necessity of placing reasonable or proportionate external restrictions.
