Judges Must Be Independent But Must Stand By Govt When It Comes To Court Infrastructure Projects : CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjay Chandrachud on Monday said judges across India function with 'fiercest' sense of independence but they must stand with the executive when it comes to court infrastructure.

CJI Chandrachud said, "Let's be clear and not be fuddled by our vision, judges must exercise their functions with the fiercest sense of independence. But when on administrative side, we must stand by the government for such projects which are for everyone and not the private projects for the judges alone. The sense of collaboration with the executive is for providing better facilities to everyone. This sense of collaboration has been there from the last 75 years and shows the maturity of our nation."

The CJI was speaking at the ground breaking ceremony of the new court complex for the Bombay High Court in Mumabi's Bandra.

The century-old High Court building in Mumbai's plush Fort area, has been facing space constraints and thus the High Court in 2019 had passed a detailed judgment asking the Maharashtra government to allot a new space for the HC complex. This year, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the issue and accordingly, the State decided to allot around 30.16 acres of land to the High Court in a phased manner, of which, the first tranche measuring 4.39 acres was handed over recently, where the CJI on Monday performed bhoomi Pooja. 

In his address to the gathering, the CJI emphasised on the need to protect the 'heritage' structure from which the High Court has been functioning from last the last 150-year old.

"Theatre artists are often told that we must respect the stage and only then the stage will respect us. Similarly, we need to respect the heritage building. Every corner of the existing building tells a stories. If you walk through the corridors, you see monkey judges, fox lawyers...In colonial time, law was used for oppression. Bombay HC's role in nation building cannot be understated. Even during the colonial rule, HC remained independent. In fact, even during emergency period, HC was independent, with many judges risking their careers to uphold the law," the CJI said.

CJI Chandrachud, further said that the new building, which will be housing the HC, must be made in a way that it is 'accessible' for everyone and based on universal design.

"It should not be accessible only for people with disability but also for children and elderly. Let's focus on critical stake holders. Judiciary is facing demographic shifts. More women are entering in the profession and becoming lawyers and judges. States like Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are seeing more than 50 per cent of the new entrants into the judiciary in the form of women. They have special needs which have to be looked after by creating safe and inclusive spaces of work for women. Women do not expect special concessions, they expect equal opportunity and the physical infrastructure which we create will define the sort of society we will create for women in the net 50 or 100 years," CJI Chandrachud underscored. 

Further, the CJI highlighted that thousands of judgments have been translated in vernacular languages. "Our idea is to ensure that our work as judges (judgments) is taken to the door step of the people for whom we work. The values of our constitution will be injected in the daily lives of the people and the lawyers, by making the same available for free and in the local languages. Bringing the constitution closer to the people will create a more informed and vibrant society," the CJI said.

Present during the even were Justices Bhushan Gavai, Abhay Oka, Dipankar Datta and Prasanna Varale of the Supreme Court. The gathering also witnessed the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers (DCMs) Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

In his address, Justice Oka made it clear to the government that even if a new building is being constructed for the High Court, the existing 'heritage' building must be protected and be kept with the judiciary only.

"I express strong personal views, even if the HC is proposed to be shifted to a new building the present building should remain with the judiciary. We can have a museum or an arbitration centre there. I hope the younger judges today remember what I said today," Justice Oka said.

The judge, further highlighted the 'poor infrastructure' in the trial courts across Maharashtra and requested the executive to look after this issue too.

"The infrastructure of our lower courts is lagging behind. The political leaders must cross the border and check the lower courts in Karnataka and Gujarat. Our State is lagging behind. Trial courts are courts of common man and thus they need to be better. Family Court construction is going on for last six years in Bandra itself. When will the work be completed? Thus, I strongly believe that a timeline must be fixed for completion of the new HC project," Justice Oka said. 

Speaking at the event, CM Shinde said that the government will always be supporting the judiciary when it comes to new infrastructure or any other projects like digitisation of courts etc.

The CM also emphasised the rise of crimes against women in the State and said that the government has 'strengthen the system' to ensure speedy justice for women.