Judiciary must improve its credibility : former CJI

The judiciary needs to look within and finds ways of improving its credibility in the eyes of the public so that it can attract academically brilliant youngsters to join the institution, a former Chief Justice of India said on Sunday.

The judiciary needs to look within and finds ways of improving its credibility in the eyes of the public so that it can attract academically brilliant youngsters to join the institution, a former Chief Justice of India said on Sunday.

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Former CJI Justice JS Verma said that the debate on improvement of judiciary should focus on quality of judges rather than their quantity.

"If the head of country's judiciary soon after taking oath says that integrity is his only asset then he is clearly bothered about the public image of the institution he heads," Justice Verma told a gathering of former police officers. He was referring to the statement of CJI SH Kapadia, who had immediately after taking oath in May 2010, stated that the only asset he possessed was his integrity.

Justice Verma said efficient judges held the key to proper administration of justice for citizens of the country.

"If you have judges of good quality in lower judiciary, the headache of high courts and the Supreme Court would automatically reduce, but for that to happen, you need to attract good talent," the former CJI said.

"The failure of the judiciary and even the executive in convincing all the stakeholders for conducting a national-level exam to appoint judges is a big example of self defeat," he said.