Verdicts must percolate quickly to all levels: JusticeUday Umesh Lalit | India News

NEW DELHI: Uday Umesh Lalitwho will take charge as the 49th CJI on August 27, on Sunday said a mechanism must be devised for speedy percolation of the Supreme Court’s decisions to the ground level and lamented that Muslim women still face vagaries of triple talaq despite it being declared unconstitutional five years ago by the top court.
In an exclusive interaction with TOI, Justice Lalit said, “Dispensation of justice has not reached the lowest strata. Fruits of whatever is decided by the Supreme Court must percolate down to every level as quickly as possible. Take for example today’s news item in TOI saying even after five years, the triple talaq victims are not getting justice. There has to be a throbbing system.”
“Look at the civil side. Fruits of decree, got after years of litigation, eludes the decree-holder. There the system needs complete tune-up or complete revamp. We may lay down law. But, in the actual dispensation, what happens is there are many misses between the cup and the lip. On the positive side, the law which is getting laid down by the SC is of the highest order,” he said.
Asked why the SC repeatedly rules and espouses the right to equality for women and giving them their due, yet not facilitating appointment of adequate number of them as judges of the constitutional courts, the CJI-designate said the scenario would undergo a complete change in the next 10-15 years.
“The number of women judges in the trial courts has risen substantially. For example, in Rajasthan, of the 190 candidates who underwent an induction programme as trial court judges recently, 129 were women. Similar is the story in Odisha and other states. These women judges would surely rise and become eligible for high court judgeship in 10-15 years,” he said.
Of the few women judges appointed to the SC, Justice Lalit said if one looks at the talent pool available for selection to the SC, say the 100 most senior HC judges, there are only few women among them. “So it would not be possible to select them, without their acquiring requisite seniority. But I’m very sure the scenario will undergo fast-paced change in the next decade or half,” he said.
Legal practice ran in Justice Lalit’s family, his grandfather being a lawyer and his grandmother becoming a doctor after her marriage. Justice Lalit’s father, Justice U R Lalitwas an additional judge in the Bombay high court and conducted himself fearlessly as required under law during Emergency. That led the government to wreak vengeance and not confirm him as a permanent judge. He would be very happy finding his son assuming charge of the top judge’s post in a fortnight’s time.
Justice Lalit was an unconventional lawyer. When he was the most sought after person as special public prosecutor in the 2G spectrum scam case, he seldom interacted with the media. As a judge too, he maintained the same principle. What makes him more unconventional as a judge is that unlike others, he personally feels that 65 years is the ideal age for retirement of a SC judge.
There has been a lot of talk in the courtroom, especially when a SC judge retires, that given the rise in life expectancy level and the fitness of judges, their retirement age should be increased to 70 years. Attorney general KK Venugopal is a votary of increase in the SC judges’ retirement age.
CJI-designate Lalit said whatever is the retirement age for judges, it should be identical for the SC and HC. At present, the SC judges retire at the age of 65 years and the HC judges at 62 years. “Personally speaking, 65 years is the appropriate age for retirement of a judge. We work under so much pressure.”
“It is true life expectancy has increased and there is logic behind using the tried and tested pool of talent that has served the country well. But, if you increase the age limit, then it will block the chances of youngsters. That is equally good talent. So, if you increase the age of judges, then the sanctioned strength of the courts should also increase,” he said.
However, he clarified why he does not want SC judge’s retirement age to be increased. “The flip side is that the health of the constitutional court judges, especially in the Supreme Court, deteriorates with the number of years he puts in the apex court. That is mainly because of the extreme workload he endures daily. Medical health of a judge when he joins the SC is far better than the health with which he retires. So much work pressure is put on them. It is better that they retire at a decent age so that they enjoy life thereafter with family or pursue their hobbies,” he said.