No institution in democracy is perfect: CJI Chandrachud on criticism about collegium

New Delhi, Nov 26: Days after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the court's model of selecting judges through the collegium system, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has said that no institution in a constitutional democracy is "perfect".

"Finally, criticism about the collegium. I thought I will reserve the best for the last. No institution in a constitutional democracy is perfect. But we work within the existing framework of the Constitution as it is interpreted and given to us. All the judges of the collegium including me, we are faithful soldiers who implement the Constitution. When we talk of imperfections, our solution is to work our way within the existing system." He said getting good people in the judiciary and paying them high salaries would not reform the collegium system," PTI quoted him as saying at the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) in New Delhi on Friday.

His view comes after Law Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the court's model of selecting judges through the collegium system.

"The president (of SCBA) raised a query about good people. Getting good people to enter the judiciary, getting good lawyers to enter the judiciary is not just the function about reforming the collegium. Getting to be judges is not a function of how much salary you give judges. However high you pay judges, it'll be a fraction of what a successful lawyer makes at the end of one day," he said, stating people become judges for a sense of commitment to public services.

He also said becoming a judge is a call of conscience. "Getting good people to become judges is first and foremost about inculcating upon minds of young members of bar about the limitless ability which lies in the power of every judge to give good society.

"Good judging is about being compassionate, good judging is about understanding problems of people, not being judgemental about people whose lives you may not agree with. Good judging is about understanding why a criminal becomes criminal. When we need to have good people within the system, the answer lies somewhere else. That answer lies in mentoring young people by giving them the ability to become judges," he said.

"Getting good people to become judges is first and foremost about inculcating upon minds of young members of bar about the limitless ability which lies in the power of every judge to give good society," he said.

He also said that judicial offices should be made appealable to young lawyers and judges should mentor them.He also pointed out that the Constitution was constantly evolving to meet the new social realities of the time and the judiciary and the bar were equal stakeholders in the mission of providing justice to common citizens.

"The confidence of our citizens in the judicial process is also determined by how efficient we are, in the way we organise our work in our judicial institutions, not just in terms of the important judgements that we deliver and for the citizens, it ultimately matters whether their case is heard by the court," Justice Chandrachud said.

The CJI also requested the lawyers to take up pro bono cases of poor litigants, he said that the process could be institutionalised and he was open to a dialogue on it.

With inputs from PTI