Judges have become easy targets with the advent of social media and have been the subject of relentless criticism and juicy gossip, Supreme Court Justice Justice NV Ramana said on Saturday.
Justice Ramana, who is the second highest-ranking judge on the Supreme Court after Chief Justice of India (CJI), SA Bobde, said that judges should be very circumspect when it comes to their social life as they do not they have a platform to respond to criticism. and they can speak only through their trials / judicial work.
“The judges are prevented from speaking in their own defense. Today, judges have become the soft targets of criticism and, especially with the advent of social media, judges have become the subjects of juicy gossip. There seems to be a misunderstanding that the judges lead a life of luxury in their ivory towers. That is not true. Justices have to balance their social lives to be independent, ”he said in his speech at the launch of a book written by recently retired Supreme Court Justice R. Banumathi.
CJI Bobde agreed with Judge Ramana’s views, saying that “the freedom of expression of judges is restricted by the same laws and mechanisms that defend the freedom of others who use it to criticize the judiciary and judges.”
Judge Banumathi’s book entitled “Judiciary, Judges and Administration of Justice” was published by CJI Bobde, who gave the first copy to Judge Ramana.
Judge Ramana will take over as CJI in place of Judge Bobde on April 24, 2021 and will be in command for nearly 1.5 years before retiring in August 2022.
Last week, another Supreme Court judge, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, had said that courts are now increasingly being asked to decide on political issues that come under the guise of public interest litigation and are they face much criticism due to handling such cases.
The courts, he argued, have limitations and have not been entrusted with the responsibility of administering the system and cannot play the role of government. Therefore, he called for a constructive approach in criticizing the court and its sentences.
“I think we have adopted a Constitution in which we have an elected government in power. Segregation of powers requires the judiciary to perform its function and the executive to perform its function. Courts cannot be unelected governments, ”Judge Kaul said in a webinar organized by the non-governmental organization CAN Foundation.
CJI Bobde also said on Saturday that due to Covid-19 and the accompanying restrictions that led to the closure of courts across the country since March, there will be an increase in the processing of cases and suggested mediation as a possible form of address arrears.
“There will be a huge pending of cases due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I don’t think there is a way out, just a way to get over it. I think it can be resolved through mediation. I am not suggesting that we should resort to mediation in all cases, but I do not think that we can do so in the usual way. We will have to put our minds together (to find a solution), ”he said.
The CJI also highlighted the importance of mental health during the times of Covid-19 and said the Supreme Court has introduced an initiative to provide mental health support and that the secretary general will make an announcement on this soon.
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