Time to remind citizens that we exist for them: CJI Chandrachud
CJI DY Chandrachud said that judiciary cannot be indifferent to suffering and injustice of litigants approaching courts.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud on Saturday said that judiciary cannot be indifferent to the suffering and injustice of litigants approaching courts as he exhorted members of the district judiciary – the first point of contact for citizens seeking justice – to give back to the society by reminding citizens that “we exist for them”.
Speaking at the inaugural event of a two-day national conference of the district judiciary in the Capital, the CJI said that the face of future judiciary is changing with the increased adoption of technology into legal and judicial process and with young recruits, who are technologically savvy, joining judiciary as a matter of “first resort”.
The CJI said, “We today have a young judiciary which is technologically savvy, technologically equipped and representative of the changing demography of India, a truly young nation. They are joining the judiciary not as a matter of last resort, but as a matter of first resort.”
Also Read | CJI, PM Modi present as Kapil Sibal raises bail concerns at trial court level
Noting the tremendous push by the e-Courts project leading to the computerisation of 3,500 court complexes and more than 22,000 courtrooms, the CJI said, “We must recognise there has been a tremendous improvement in the conditions of service of our district judiciary. Now, it is our time to give back to society. Now that we have been recognised in terms of the conditions which have been created for us, it is time for us to remind citizens that we exist for them and what better way to do it than in the work we perform.”
He presented data to further suggest that an increasing number of women have been joining the district judiciary in the past few years and said, “These are a few examples which paint the picture of a promising judiciary of the future.”
Also Read | Speed up trials of crimes on women: PM to courts
With over 800 district judicial officers in attendance from all states and union territories, CJI reminded them that the district judiciary is a crucial component of the rule of law, serving as the “backbone of judiciary” that serves as the first point of contact for citizens, “We must realise as judges, that we exist for reasons beyond our own existence. The core of our function is to serve others. That can happen when we put ourselves in the place of those who come before us with real life stories of suffering and injustice,” justice Chandrachud said.
At the same time, he reminded that for many citizens, district courts may end up being the last resort for justice due to numerous reasons, some of them being financial constraint, lack of awareness about their statutory rights, or geographical difficulties in physically accessing court.
The CJI said, “The quality of our work and the conditions in which we provide justice to citizens determine whether they have confidence in us and is a test of our own accountability to society.”
“Each case has the potential to make us more sensitive to the human condition and the human story behind the case. This, in turn, enables us to practice judging with empathy and compassion,” he said.
But there is a flip side as well as the CJI underscored the need for judges to cater to their mental health and holistic wellness.
“It is difficult for a judge not to be affected by the actual face of suffering that each one of us encounters every day – a family which is coming face to face with a gruesome crime, an undertrial who is languishing for years or the children in a parental matrimonial dispute. Judges are, despite being professionals, affected by their own brush with reality. Their mental health may suffer as a consequence,” the CJI said, coining the term judicial wellness that has the potential to impact the overall ability of the judge to render justice.
The need for judges to keep pace with evolving times and update themselves with new laws and changing societal conditions was also highlighted in his speech. “Society changes with the passage of time and while judges are required to be islands, standing independent, they must still be aware of the world around them. This is indispensable in ensuring that justice is delivered in each case,” he said.
Justice Chandrachud cited his own example to suggest how judges must take the lead in integrating technology into their day-to-day functioning. “After the adoption of the Parichay application at the Supreme Court, I no longer use a pen to sign or mark the administrative files which require my attention. I instead review and approve files using my computer.”
He told the judicial officers that purchasing technological devices is insufficient in the mission to ensure that courts become citizen-centric. Rather, he said, “We must embrace and implement technological processes by utilising the technology at our disposal and ensuring their full use in our work.”
At the event, coinciding with the 75 years of the Supreme Court’s establishment, judges of the apex court and chief justices of high courts were also present. The conference will discuss a range of issues concerning district judiciary, including managing the judicial docket, security and wellness of judicial officers, addressing gender dynamics in judiciary, and concerns of infrastructure and manpower.
The CJI advocated against the use of the term “subordinate” judiciary and said, “Seventy-five years after Independence, the time has come for us to bury one more relic of the British era – the colonial mindset of subordination.”
Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also spoke on the occasion along with BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) president Kapil Sibal.