NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said the role of Supreme Court neccesarily does not include fulfilling the role of opposition in parliament but that of a people’s court that should be preserved for the future.
The CJI said while everyone enjoyed the right to criticise the court for the inconsistency of legal doctrine or an error, its role should not be perceived on the basis of its outcomes – which he said was “dangerous “to do so.
“The access to justice paradigm of the Supreme Court, which has been developed over the last 75 years, is something that we should not lose track of,” he said. When societies grow and evolve into prosperity and affluence, there is a perception that you should be looking at only the big-ticket items. Ours is not a court like that. Ours is a court which is a people’s court and I think the role of Supreme Court as people’s court must be preserved for the future, the CJI said while addressing the first Supreme Court Advocates On Record Association (SCAORA) Conference in South Goa.
“Now, being a people’s court is not to say that we fulfil the role of the opposition in Parliament,” the CJI said.
“I think, particularly in today’s times, there is this great divide between everybody who thinks that the Supreme Court is a wonderful institution when you decide in their favour, and it is an institution which is denigrated when you decide against them,” he said.
“I think that is a dangerous proposition because you cannot look at the role of the Supreme Court or its work from the perspective of the outcomes. The outcome of individual cases may be in your favour or maybe against you. The judges are entitled to decide with a sense of independence on a case-by-case basis,” he added.
The CJI said that one is entitled to criticise the court for the inconsistency of legal doctrine or an error. “I am sure judges have no difficulty about it, but the problem lies when the very same people see that the court is going to a particular direction are all willing to criticise it because the outcome has gone against you,” he said.
The CJI said, “We as a legal profession must have a robust common sense to understand that judges are entitled and must decide on a case-by-case basis, depending on how the legal doctrine has to be applied to the facts in that particular situation.”
Discussing the initiatives undertaken by the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India highlighted the significant advancements made in technology. These include the introduction of e-filing for cases, the digitization of case records, the conversion of arguments from constitutional bench hearings into text using speech-to-text technology, and live-streaming of court proceedings. He noted that while live-streaming has its drawbacks, it has been transformative for the judiciary.
“If you have seen some of the flip sides in the last few days, there are lawyers who speak to the gallery,” he said, adding that now the proceedings are not just confined to the particular court room with 25 or 30 or 50 lawyers, but it goes to 20,000,000 people almost at the click of a button.
Agencies
SC need not act as Opp in Parliament, its role as people’s court must be preserved: CJI
