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 of justice if it becomes revenge,” the CJI said at the inauguration of a building of the Rajasthan High Court 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, saying women in the country were crying for justice.
“I would urge the CJI and other senior judge that now 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 at the earliest,” Prasad said, assuring government funding for the same.
The CJI, who spoke after the minister, stressed that as an institution, the judiciary must remain committed to making justice accessible to people by strengthening existing avenues and evolving newer means to achieve affordable, quick and satisfactory settlement of disputes. He said there was a need in the judiciary to invoke self-correcting measures but whether or not these should be publicised was a matter of debate.
“We have to devise methods for not only speeding up litigation but altogether preventing it. There are laws which provide for pre-litigation mediation.” He also said the press conference by four senior most judges of the apex court last year was a self-corrective measure.
Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurien Joseph had on January 12, 2018, held a press conference, saying the situation in the top court was “not in order” and many “less than desirable” things had taken place. PTI
