Grave danger in equating court with temple, judge with God: CJI Chandrachud
Grave danger in equating court with temple, judge with God: CJI Chandrachud
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud highlighted the dangers of perceiving courts as "temples of justice" and judges as God during a conference on Contemporary Judicial Developments. Speaking in Kolkata on Saturday, the CJI emphasized that judges serve the public interest and should be seen as servants of the people rather than divine figures.
"There is a grave danger when people say that the court is a temple of justice. There is a grave danger that we perceive ourselves as the deities in those temples," CJI Chandrachud said as quoted by ANI.
He stressed the importance of judges embodying compassion and empathy, rather than being judgmental.
Addressing the theme of the conference, CJI Chandrachud also noted that "constitutional morality" underpins the commitment of the court system. He explained that this concept extends beyond the abstract, engaging with contemporary societal challenges that judges face in their work.
"The true merit of our work lies in addressing challenges faced by those at whose feet we are intended to serve—the common citizens of India," he said.
The CJI cautioned against the judiciary allowing personal values and beliefs to influence judgments contrary to constitutional values. He also discussed the importance of preserving India's diversity within its federal structure and how constitutional morality is reflected in societal values as set out in the Constitution's Preamble.
"We could be masters of Constitutional interpretation, but a just society is established with the court's vision of Constitutional Morality,” he said.
He emphasized that constitutional morality involves a dialogue within and between societies, not just between the state and its citizens. This principle should guide judges at all levels, including those in the district judiciary, where the common citizen's engagement with the judicial system begins.
CJI Chandrachud also highlighted the role of technology in the judiciary. He pointed out that language barriers hinder access to and understanding of court verdicts, which are often written in English.
In his speech, he highlighted the need for technological innovations to enhance the justice delivery system, not merely for modernization's sake but to achieve broader objectives. He mentioned AI-assisted software under development to translate the 37,000 Supreme Court judgments from English into all constitutionally recognized regional languages. This initiative aims to make legal resources more accessible.
"Technology can provide us with some answers. We are translating 51,000 judgments into other languages," he said, underlining the judiciary's efforts to make legal outcomes more accessible to the public.
Furthermore, the CJI outlined other technology-driven measures to improve judicial efficiency, such as digitizing Supreme Court judgments, decentralizing court access to reduce travel burdens on litigants, increasing public awareness of court procedures, and categorizing cases effectively.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, delivering a special address at the conference, appealed to the judiciary to remain free from political bias. "Judiciary should be pure, honest, and sacred. I believe that the judiciary is of, by, and for the people. If the judiciary cannot deliver justice to people, who can? It's the ultimate frontier for getting justice and the last recourse to save our country's democracy and our Constitution,” Banerjee said.
Chief Justice of Calcutta high court TS Sivagnanam also attended the conference, which was organized in collaboration with the Calcutta High Court and the West Bengal Judicial Academy.
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