Justice can never be instant: CJI

Jodhpur, December 7 

In the backdrop of the Hyderabad rape and murder and the subsequent gunning down of the four accused in an alleged encounter, Chief Justice of India SA Bobde today said justice could never be instant and “ loses its character when it becomes revenge.”

“I don’t think justice can ever be or ought to be instant, and justice must never ever take the form of revenge. I believe justice loses its character if it becomes revenge,” the CJI said at a function here.

The CJI’s remarks came a day after the police claimed that all four accused in the rape and murder of a young veterinarian in Hyderabad had been shot in “retaliatory” firing by cops. Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad  urged the CJI and other senior judges to ensure that there was a mechanism to monitor quick disposal of rape cases, “Women are crying for justice,” he said. “There must be a mechanism to monitor the disposal of these cases so that India’s stature as a proud country governed by the rule of law is restored,” Prasad said, assuring government funding for the same.

The CJI stressed that the judiciary must remain committed to making justice accessible to people by strengthening avenues and evolving newer means to achieve affordable and quick settlement of disputes. “There is a need in the judiciary to invoke self-correcting measures,” he said, adding  the press conference by four seniormost judges of the apex court last year was a self-corrective measure. — PTI