No institution in democracy is perfect: CJI Chandrachud

NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Friday while talking about the Collegium system of appointing judges, said that no institution in a democracy is perfect. "No institution in a Constitutional democracy is perfect. We work within the existing framework of the Constitution and we are faithful soldiers who implement the Constitution," said the CJI while speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

Merely reforming the Collegium system of the apex court or increasing the salary of judges will not ensure that good and qualified people join the court. "Getting good people in judiciary is not just about reforming the collegium..." the CJI said, adding that lawyers joining the bench as judges is a call of conscience and a commitment to the public.

He said that system has to make the office of a judge appealing to young lawyers. CJI said November 26, 1959 was an important day because it was when the constituent assembly adopted the Constitution. The process of nation-building is a constantly evolving task, he said.

Constitution is constantly evolving to meet the new social realities of the time, CJI said. He further said that the working of the Constitution depends on how the district judiciary is working. When we celebrate the Constitution we must be conscious of histories prior to the adoption of the Constitution, he added.

CJI said the legal profession must shed away its colonial underpinnings and in a country like India where summers include extreme heatwaves because of climate change we must reconsider the strict dress code for lawyers, especially in summers. The strictness of attire should not lead to moral policing of women lawyers, he added. Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also attending the event said that a country progresses in the visionary guidance of its leaders.

"If leaders become weak, the country becomes weak. If CJI becomes weak, Supreme Court becomes weak and if Supreme Court becomes weak, the judiciary becomes weak. I congratulate Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and know the judiciary will rise under him," Rijiju said. He said he is committed to creating better infrastructure in the country.

"Independence of the Indian judiciary is untouched. We are here to protect it. Hum sab ek hai. Aapas mein ladna theek nahi hai. (We are all the same, we should not quarrel among ourselves)," he added. Attorney General R Venkataramani said that we need to see what justice needs of different sections of the community and restructure fundamentally our court system, our law framing, our law reforms.

It is time we have a permanent Law Commission which is assisted by the best quality of experts, he said.