‘Collegium system is criticized, but…’, says CJI DY Chandrachud in presence of Law Minister

Constitution Day is celebrated every year on 26 November. Before that, on its eve, a program was organized in the Supreme Court in which Law Minister Kiren Rijiju as well as Chief Justice DY Chandrachud also participated. During this program, Union Minister Ririju also launched an online course on the Indian Constitution.

At the same time, CJI DY Chandrachud said in his speech that there is criticism of the collegium system, but I would like to say that all judges are soldiers of the constitution. He said that the interest of the people is not only served by the PIL, but by the fact that everyone should have access to justice. Along with this, he also spoke on the dress code of the lawyers. He said that the lawyers are still wearing the dress of the colonial period. At least for the summer, a better dress code should be considered, which is also dignified according to the profession.

On the issue of the collegium, the CJI said, “Finally, the criticism about the collegium. I thought I would reserve the best for the last (thing). In a constitutional democracy no institution is perfect, but we work within the existing framework of the constitution. All the judges of the Collegium, including me, are loyal soldiers who enforce the Constitution. When we talk about loopholes, our solution is to work within the existing system.” He said bringing in good people in the judiciary and giving them higher salaries will not improve the collegium system.

CJI on Collegium

The CJI said, “The president (of SCBA) has raised a question about good people. Getting good people into the Judiciary, getting good lawyers into the Judiciary is not just a task of reforming the collegium. Making a judge is not related to how much salary you pay to the judges. No matter how much you pay judges, it will be a fraction of what a successful lawyer earns in a day.”

The CJI said that people become judges for a sense of commitment towards public services. He also said that becoming a judge is a call of conscience. Emphasizing on the need to make judicial offices attractive to young lawyers, he said that we have to ensure that young lawyers are mentored by judges.

CJI on young lawyers

Justice Chandrachud said that the Constitution is constantly evolving to meet the new social realities of the times. He said that the Judiciary and the Bar are equal stakeholders in the mission of providing justice to the common citizens. Requesting the senior member of the Bar to fight the cases of poor litigants free of cost, he said that the process can be institutionalized and he is ready to negotiate on it.

Justice Chandrachud also said that the legal profession needed to shed its colonial base and the strict dress code of lawyers (especially in summers) could be reconsidered. He said, “I am thinking of making the dress suitable to our life, season and time. There should not be strict moral surveillance of women lawyers on dress.