"Judges Not Gallivanting In Vacation": Chief Justice On Judiciary Workload

Judges are not gallivanting even during vacations and are deeply committed to their work, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has said, stressing that judges do not get sufficient time to think or read about law and are expected to dispose of cases like machines.

The Chief Justice addressed the inaugural Loksatta Annual Lecture in Mumbai yesterday. In an interaction that followed, he said that unlike in other fields, a judge's work burden increases in volume and complexity as he or she rises in the judiciary.

"Our judges are not gallivanting or goofing up even in vacation, they are deeply committed to the work they do," he said, according to news agency PTI. The orders they pass will define the country for decades, but judges hardly get time to think or read about the law (aside from their work), the Chief Justice added.

"....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.

The pendency of cases across lower courts, high courts and the Supreme Court runs into crores. The lack of an adequate number of judges and infrastructure issues are among the key reasons.

Speaking about the collegium system, the Chief Justice said every institution can be improved, but this should not lead to a conclusion that there is something fundamentally wrong with it. He said the Collegium system is a federal system where responsibility has been given to different levels of governments, 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," he said.

"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," the Chief Justice added.

If there is an objection about a particular candidate, discussions take place with a "very great deal of maturity", he said. "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 a part," he added.

On the emergence of social media, the Chief Justice said it is good for society.

"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," the Chief Justice said.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is due to retire on November 10. Justice Sanjiv Khanna will take over the country's highest judicial post thereafter.