System v/s People

Very recently, in November, The Chief Justice of India said a very sensible thing which I thought to reproduce here, in my own way...coz he said something that I have always believed in…

Being a lawyer, my non-lawyer friends and others around always crib, and specifically crib in front of me that our country’s justice system is rotten!!!!! They never tire away from saying things like law in India has gone to dogs…

Sometimes I retaliate aggressively but at times I feel there is no point in doing so and thinking this I just shut up!!!! But when at night, while in my bed, I go back to that conversation or rather that complains and sulking session, I feel as if it’s my duty to rectify them over this misconception!

The system we have, the judicial system that is, is one of the best systems in the present times. Our laws are upbeat and flexible enough and they have been changed with the changing times, both in the written legislations and in the judgments pronounced by the courts (precedents as we call it).

As the Chief Justice of India said:

“India is an aspirational democracy.  It is the shared idea of India to emerge from Society which has individuals of diverse ideologies, cultures and religious denominations.  We must, therefore, identify common strands that will bind us, as one nation and one people.  Unless this is done we cannot build a modern and strong India. In the hierarchy of values, judicial integrity is above judicial independence.  Judicial accountability needs to be balanced with judicial independence.  I would request the Bar as well as eminent jurists to deliberate upon constitutional concepts such as Judicial Independence and Judicial Accountability.  We, the Judges, do not mind a studied fair criticism.  However, as an advice to the Bar please do not dismantle an Institution without showing how to build a better one. Please remember ‘When an Institution No Longer matters, we no longer matter.’…..”

It’s not the institution or the system that needs a change, it’s the people and their mindsets to change….only then can better days shall come along…we only need to work for dusting the system and polish it and then the faith in it shall come alive, all over again!!!!