Chief Justice of India V.N. Khare today warned the judiciary of attempts from different quarters to ‘‘derail its independence’’ and asked judges to keep working for collective independence of judiciary. ‘‘Judiciary must be cautious not to lose track as there are attempts to derail its independence,’’ he said at a talk on ‘State of Judicial independence since Vienna 1993’ organised by United Lawyers Association. He said: ‘‘Judges must earn respect and regard from public by having an unblemishled character. They must not only work for personal independence but also for collective independence of judiciary.’’He said an independent body should analyse the impartiality of judiciary and enquire into substantial allegations against judges. A similar body must also identify and report attacks on judiciary, he added.Delivering the annual lecture, former United Nations special rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers by UN Commission of Human Rights Dato Param Cumaraswamy said globally 315 jurists received threats from between 2000 and 2001. Out of this 38 were killed, he added.
