CJI Chandrachud has a message for judges and lawyers on political ideologies

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud has called for an independent bar, saying it has a close link with the independence of judiciary.

“In a vibrant and argumentative democracy like ours, most individuals have political ideology or inclination to quote Aristotle ‘human beings are political animals’. Lawyers are no exception. However, for the members of the Bar one’s highest loyalty must lie with partisan interest but to the court and the constitution. In many ways, it is the independent Bar that is the moral bulwark to protect the rule of law and constitutional governance,” the CJI was quoted by ANI as saying during his address at the centenary year celebration of the High Court Bar Association Nagpur.

“The bar as an institution is essential to preserve judicial independence, constitutional values and the dignity of the courts,” he added.

Chandrachud said that the judiciary has time and again risen to the occasion to assert its independence and non-partisanship, a separation of power from the executive, the legislature and vested political interest.

“We must not forget, however, that there is a close link between the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the bar,” the CJI said.

During his address, the CJI said that the judgments of the Supreme Court’s constitutional benches are the culmination of rigorous proceedings, thorough legal analysis and commitment to constitutional principles.

“But once a judgment is pronounced, it is public property. As an institution, our shoulders are broad. We stand ready to receive both praise and criticism…bouquets and brickbats, be it through journalistic pieces, political commentary or on social media,” he said.

“Of late, I have been very disturbed by the tendency of members of bar associations to comment on cases which are pending and on judgments. You are first and foremost officers of the court, and the truth and dignity of our legal discourse is in your hands,” he added.

Earlier this year, the CJI had said that judges must judge free of social, political pressure and inherent biases. “The art of judging must be free of social and political pressure and from the inherent biases which human beings hold. Efforts are being made from within the institution to educate and sensitise judges across courts to unlearn their subconscious attitudes inculcated by social conditioning on gender, disability, race caste and sexuality,” CJI Chandrachud had said.