Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi’s advice that the Chief Justices of the High Courts should ensure that fellow judges do not take leave on working days and remain in court during working hours to clear the backlog of cases, drew a counter suggestion from one of his predecessors. Former CJI R.M. Lodha said the Supreme Court ought to be the first to “set an example” in the matter.
“The Supreme Court should first set the example, not just the CJI, but the entire court of 24 judges,” said Justice Lodha, who had during his term as CJI mooted a 365-day work calendar for the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
“Charity begins at home. Such initiatives should be objectively implemented by the Supreme Court, then it will percolate to the High Courts,” Justice Lodha told The Hindu in a telephonic conversation on Friday.
Pointing out how “on Mondays and Fridays, most of the judges rise at 11.30 a.m. or noon”, Justice Lodha suggested: “Instead, they should actually show their leadership and sit for the entire time from 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.”
The former CJI said proposals like that of Chief Justice Gogoi’s had been floated by past CJIs as well.
Federal structure
“Firstly, the CJI, or for that matter, the Supreme Court has no administrative control over the High Courts in a federal structure. That is our constitutional scheme. CJI cannot give orders, he can only advice. It has to be left to the High Courts concerned to ensure that the advice is properly implemented,” Justice Lodha said.
The former CJI said the effort to trim the backlog should be “collective, collaborative and consensual” among the CJI, Supreme Court judges and the High Court Chief Justices.
“Why is it that such ideas work only for the next two months or so? After that we are back to the same old … judges taking leave at the drop of a hat, do not sit in court the whole day. Assignment imbalances leave many judges with no work,” Justice Lodha said.
Short tenures
Justice Lodha said the successive short tenures of CJIs also impeded implementation of their plans. Changes for the better should be institutionalised. “CJIs come and go. Their tenures may be long or short. In my time, and that of Justice S.H. Kapadia’s, discussions were on about framing a Vision Document for future CJIs. We know our line of succession for the next 10 years, so why cannot we prepare a document in consultation with those who will matter for the next 10 years. This document would be, broadly, a policy framework of judicial working in the Supreme Court and high courts. All that the future CJIs need to do is follow the vision,” Justice Lodha said.
