Chief Justice SA Bobde said that justice would lose its character if it becomes revenge.
Chief Justice of India SA Bobde on Saturday condemned the practice of extrajudicial killings, saying that justice loses its very character when it takes the form of revenge. The observation, made at an event in Jodhpur, comes amid a raging debate over the killing of four accused in the Telangana rape and murder case early on Friday.
"I don't think justice can ever be or ought to be instant. And justice must never ever take the form of revenge. I believe justice loses its character of justice if it becomes revenge," Chief Justice Bobde, who took over as the head of the Indian judiciary last month, said in his address at the inauguration of a new Rajasthan High Court building.
He, however, admitted that the country's judicial system has a few flaws that need urgent correction. "There is no doubt that the criminal justice system must reconsider its position and attitude towards laxity and the eventual time it takes to dispose of criminal matters," he said, adding that increased application of technology and the strengthening of alternate dispute resolution systems could help cut down the time needed to take cases to their logical conclusion.
Opinion is divided over the killing of four accused in the brutal gang-rape and murder of a veterinarian in Telangana's Shamshabad on November 27. While many -- including Delhi Commission of Women chairperson Swati Maliwal -- claim that the "encounter killing" would send out a strong message to sexual predators, others have condemned the manner in which the accused were killed without being given a chance to prove their innocence in court.
The father of another rape victim who was set on fire in Unnao on Thursday has even demanded that the culprits be "hanged within a week or shot dead" in a manner similar to the Telangana incident.
Telangana police claim that they killed the four accused because they were trying to escape after snatching their weapons. A petition seeking a probe into the alleged encounter has been filed in the Supreme Court.
(With inputs from ANI)