Judiciary has ‘fallen short of people’s expectations’ at times: CJI Ramana

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Aug 26: Outgoing Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana Friday termed pendency of cases as a “huge challenge” and rued that the judiciary has “fallen short of people’s expectations” at times.

He also said the appointment of 11 Supreme Court and 224 high court judges during his tenure was a reflection of the “coherence and determination” of judges to strengthen the judiciary.

The 48th CJI, who had succeeded S A Bobde on April 24, 2021, spoke at two events on his last day in office and expressed regret for not being able to pay much attention to issues of listing and posting of matters for hearing in the Supreme Court.

Addressing one function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to bid him adieu on completion of his over 16-month-long tenure on Friday evening, the CJI observed the judiciary has “fallen short of people’s expectations” at times.

The jurisprudence has evolved considerably in the last 75 years, and “our judiciary is not defined by a single order or decision…most of the times, it has championed the cause of the people”, he said.

Justice Ramana thanked his colleagues in the collegiums and consulting judges for being able to recommend so many names for judgeships.

“I am happy to inform you that thanks to my collegium judges and consulting judges, in the last 16 months, we could appoint 11 judges to the apex court, and out of the 255 recommended for the various high courts, 224 judges are already appointed.

“This amounts to nearly 20 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of the high courts. Due to our concerted efforts, we could make considerable progress in appointing more women judges and promoting social diversity on the bench. We got 15 new chief justices for various high courts during the same period. This process is a reflection of the coherence and determination of the judges to strengthen our institution, to further the goal of justice,” the CJI said.

CJI-designate U U Lalit hailed his predecessor and pointed out two “stand out” achievements, including that over 250 appointments of judges in the high courts across the country as a result of recommendations made by the apex court collegium in the last about 14 months or so.

Attorney General K K Venugopal, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Dushyant Dave and Vikas Singh paid glowing tributes to the CJI for his contribution to the judiciary.

Dave broke into tears in the forenoon while bidding adieu to the CJI who was sitting with justices Lalit and Hima Kohli. He said Justice Ramana maintained checks and balances between the judiciary, executive and Parliament, and did so “with a spine” and described him a citizen’s judge.

Recently, senior advocate and former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Dushyant Dave had said that the CJI should not have the power to assign and list cases, and a fully automated system for allocation be put in place in the top court.

“We have to admit the fact that the pendency is a huge challenge before us. I must admit that issues of listing and posting of matters is one of the areas on which I could not pay much attention. I am sorry for that,” the CJI said in the forenoon, adding, “We are busy in fire-fighting on all days.” Justice Ramana, who served as a judge for over two decades in the higher judiciary, expressed satisfaction over his journey and said that he never claimed himself to be a “scholarly judge or a great judge”, but always believed that the ultimate purpose of the justice delivery system is to provide justice to the common man.

On his retirement day, the CJI hinted toward the malicious campaign aimed at him and his family also just before his elevation to the top post.

“From the date, I joined the bench till I reached the highest possible position in the judiciary, I was subjected to conspiratorial scrutiny. My family and I suffered in silence. But ultimately, the truth will always prevail. ‘Satyameva Jayate’,” he said.

The CJI said Indian judiciary has grown with time and it cannot be defined or judged by one single order or judgement.

He said unless the credibility of the institution is protected, being the officers of this court, one could not command respect from the people and the society.

The CJI referred to the packed auditorium and the good words spoken about him by Justice Lalit and other bar leaders and said that he was searching for words to adequately express his gratitude.

He said the problems faced by the judiciary cannot be looked at in isolation.

“The judiciary is independent when it comes to adjudication of cases, but with respect to finances or appointments, it is still dependent on the government. To coordinate and get cooperation from the government, interaction is inevitable. But interaction does not mean influence. I hope this dialogue between the judiciary and the public will continue,” he said.

He told the audience about the idea behind his weekend travels to the courts across the country and said, “I felt it was my constitutional duty to dispel these notions and bring the court closer to the people, by way of generating awareness and building confidence among people about the judiciary.” “I am demitting my office with utmost contentment. When you ultimately judge me as a judge, I would like to say that I may be judged as a very ordinary judge, but one who greatly relished and enjoyed the job,” he said.