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Transparency needed to prevent corruption: CJI

The Chief Justice of India, Justice B N Kirpal, has stressed the need for transparency in the functioning of the judiciary.

"There are instances where corruption and incompetence have also pervaded the judicial establishment," he said. "The members of the judiciary are also Indian citizens who come from the same aggregate as those in the legislature and the executive... there are instances where corruption and incompetence have also pervaded the judicial establishment. That cannot be denied."

Inaugurating the First South Asian Regional Judicial Colloquium on Access to Justice on Thursday evening, the CJI said, "There are compelling reasons for the judiciary to function publicly and transparently. People must find their trust and faith in the judiciary. It is their right to know the process in which they are governed."

He said that due to the 'sacred nature' of the profession, the judges were required to discharge their duties with utmost 'objective and apolitical mind' and without depending on any particular ideology.

He, however, said due to the elaborate nature of the safety measures that had been put in place, as also the process of judicial selection, ensured that corruption and incompetence were weeded out to a very large extent, if not completely.

Pointing out that the lack of effective governance today is 'staggering', the CJI said, "The judiciary is expected to sustain a higher level of moral rigidity and make sure that the failures of the legislature and the executive do not affect the progress of this great nation."

He said the rapid changes due to globalisation called for a paradigm shift in the legal system of the country. "The law cannot continue to sit back and watch this progress and then attempt to adapt to it. It must guide the change," he added.

In the context of access to justice, the CJI appreciated the valuable insight of his predecessors who devised the mechanism of Public Interest Litigation for dispensing justice to the poor, as the judicial procedure established centuries ago was being severely tested.

Despite having been misused by some people, the PILs have proved to be a vital tool in the battle to ensure access to justice, he said.

Justice Kirpal said it was not correct to think that simply because the judges were not elected by the people of India, they were not accountable to anyone. "He/she [a judge] is always accountable, though not to a particular person, but to his brethren, and to the Indian people in general, for they have reposed their trust in him/ her," the CJI said.

He also defended the present procedure for appointment of judges saying 'judicial independence is a goal that cannot be jeopardised in any manner or to any extent, for that will be the beginning of the destruction of democracy'.

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