As Supreme Court turns 75, CJI Chandrachud bats to start tough conversations on ‘long vacations’, ‘adjournment culture’
Speaking on the Foundation Day of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud also stressed on the need to provide a level-playing field for first-generation lawyers.
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Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud presents a memento to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 75th year celebrations of the Supreme Court in New Delhi on Sunday. PTIChief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Sunday called for starting a “conversation on long vacations” to find out if any alternatives are possible and on the need to “emerge out of adjournment culture”. Delivering the Foundation Day address on the occasion of the 75th year of the Supreme Court’s establishment, the CJI said “our ability to remain relevant as an institution requires us to recognise challenges and begin difficult conversations”.
He then went on to highlight four issues on which such “difficult conversations” should begin. “First, we must emerge out of the adjournment culture to a culture of professionalism; second, we have to ensure that the length of oral arguments does not interminably delay judicial outcomes; third, the legal profession must provide a level playing field for first-generation lawyers – men, women and others from marginalised segments who have the will to work and the potential to succeed; and fourth, let us begin the conversation on long vacations and decide, of course in consultation with the Bar, whether alternatives such as flexitime for lawyers and judges is possible,” he said.
VIDEO | “Today is a momentous occasion in the history of our nation. The Supreme Court of India marks the commencement of the diamond jubilee year of the moment of its inception on 28 January 1950,” said CJI DY Chandrachud earlier today, speaking during the Diamond Jubilee… pic.twitter.com/DHrjynVMCb
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 28, 2024
The CJI said the Supreme Court “was established with a sense of idealism — that laws would be interpreted by a Constitutional court in accordance with the rule of law and not by colonial values or social hierarchies. It affirmed the belief that the judiciary should serve as a bulwark against injustice, tyranny, and arbitrariness.”
Speaking about the improvements made to the working of courts, CJI Chandrachud said, “Just as we make our courts tech-savvy, we must also realise that India is going through a period of social and demographic transformation. Anyone who visits India will notice a striking feature of the changing demographics. Now, women can be seen in important positions. There is a focus on greater inclusion of the marginalised sections of society. Equally inspiring is the confidence of the younger population to succeed in their professional lives.”
The CJI said “traditionally, the legal profession was a profession of elite men. Times have changed. Women, traditionally underrepresented in the profession, now constitute 36.3% of the working strength of the district judiciary. In the recruitment examination for Junior Civil Judges conducted in several states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, more than 50% of the selected candidates were women. In the Supreme Court of India, we hire law clerks-cum-research associates to assist the judges, out of which 41% candidates are women this year”.
“We as judges and administrations, cannot be ignorant of these rising aspirations. Before the beginning of 2024, only 12 women were designated as ‘Senior Advocates’ in the history of the Supreme Court over the last 74 years. Last week, the Supreme Court designated 11 women coming from different parts of the country as Senior Advocates at one selection. Our legitimacy will endure from the inclusion of diverse sections of the population in our system. Therefore, we need to make more efforts to bring different sections of the society into the legal profession. For instance, the representation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is quite low both at the Bar as well as on the Bench,” CJI Chandrachud said.
He added that “in the near future, we must address the structural issues affecting the judiciary, such as pendency of cases, archaic procedures, and the culture of adjournments. Our effort in our work as Judges and administrators must be to ensure dignity to the district judiciary, which is the first point of contact for citizens.”
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