CJI: Every institution can be improved, but it doesn't mean it is fundamentally flawed

CJI D Y Chandrachud. File Pic

DY Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India, has stated that while every institution can be improved, this should not lead to the conclusion that there is something essentially flawed. He was discussing the collegium system during an engagement on Saturday after delivering the first lecture in a series organised by the Marathi daily 'Loksatta' here, reported PTI.

In response to a question about the collegium system for appointing Supreme Court and High Court justices, the CJI stated that it is a federal system with responsibility divided between multiple levels of government (both the Centre and the states) and the judiciary.

"It is a process of consultative dialogue, where consensus emerges, but at times there is no consensus, but that's part of the system. We must have the maturity to understand that this represents the strength of our system," Chandrachud said according to a PTI report.

"I wish, we will be able to foster a greater consensus, but the point of the matter is, this is dealt with a very great level of maturity on the parts of different levels within the judiciary and different levels within the governments," he added.

If there is an objection to a particular applicant, conversations are conducted with "very great maturity," according to the chief justice.

"We have to understand that it is very easy to criticise the institution that we have formed....every institution is capable of betterment. But the very fact that there are institutional improvements, which are possible, should not lead us to a conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with the institution," he said.

"The fact that these institutions have stood the test of time for over the last 75 years is a reason for us to trust our system of democratic governance of which judiciary is well a part," he added.

To another question, the chief justice said unlike in other fields, the work burden of a judge increases both in terms of volume and complexity as he or she rises in the judiciary.

"Our judges are not galivanting or goofing up even in the vacation, they are deeply committed to the work they do," he said.

The orders they pass will define the country in next decades, but judges hardly get time to think or read about law (aside from their work), the chief justice said.

"....do we give our judges sufficient time to think or read about the law or do you just want them to be merely a mechanical machine in the disposal of cases," he asked.

Despite its drawbacks, the emergence of social media is good for society, CJI Chandrachud said.

"The whole universe of judging, I believe, has undergone changes due to social media. Judges have to be very careful about what they say, use appropriate language," he said.

"I still feel that the advent of social media is good for society, as it enables the user to reach a huge section of society," he remarked.

With PTI inputs