The unpleasant situation arising out of Justice Karnan’s pronouncements and his behaviour should serve as a ‘wake-up’ call (“Karnan wants SC to recall order”, May 13). It is not enough to think in terms of enforcing rules and regulations as it would be viewed as a strangulation of the freedom of speech. The more fundamental problem that needs to be addressed is a sound procedure in selecting judges. Taking the cue from the system used in the administrative, police, railway and the revenue services, a similar approach is required in judicial administration as well. A body of young and meritorious law graduates passing a gruelling exam to become a member of an ‘Indian Law Service (ILS)’ must be put in place. These law officers can be promoted over a period of time based on certain criteria to become judges across the country. The selection of judges should be from this pool of meritorious law officers. If we can make the judiciary stronger, we can arrest the growing erosion of faith in the judicial system. Unfortunately, our democratic process has created a feeling that one has to create a ruckus in order to be heard. We need a good system put in place before such anarchic behaviour becomes the norm.
S. Mohanakrishnan,
Chennai
