I have mailed it to all judges of the Indian Supreme Court
Justice Katju
Brother Judges of the Indian Supreme Court,
There is an oft quoted maxim of former Lord Chancellor of England Sir Francis Bacon ” A much talking judge is like an ill tuned cymbal ” ( Jo judge bohot bolta hai woh besura baaja jaisa hota hai ).
I was sad to note that some of you have this habit, which you should refrain from and eschew. This advice of mine should not be taken as an admonition, but as a counsel coming from an elder brother ( I retired as a Supreme Court Judge in 2011, and am now 79 years old ).
Your job as a judge is to hear, not talk, in Court. I once went to the British High Court in London to witness the proceedings in Court. There was almost pin drop silence, the judge quietly hearing, and the counsel arguing in a very low tone. Occasionally the judge asked a question to the lawyer to clarify some point, otherwise he was silent throughout.
That is how the atmosphere of a Court should be, of serenity and tranquillity, the lawyer speaking in a low voice, and the judge quietly hearing. Of course, ultimately the verdict is in the hands of the judge.
But what have I noticed of late ( the proceedings are often shown on youtube ) ?
I saw former CJI Chandrachud talking on and on in Court e.g. in the case relating to a lady doctor of RG Kar Medical College, Kolkata, who was raped and murdered, asking questions like why there was delay in filing the FIR ( questions which should have really been asked by the investigating officer or the trial court ), etc
I noticed a similar thing recently regarding the bail hearing in the Supreme Court of Prof Ali Khan Mahmadubad, about whom I wrote this article :
I was glad that interim bail was granted to Prof Mahmudabad, but where was the need of the comments of one of the Judges on the bench that Prof Mahmudabad was doing dog whistling and seeking cheap popularity ?
Justice Surya Kant, who is in line of becoming the next CJI, reportedly said :
” Everyone has the right to free speech and expression. But is this the time to talk about all of this? The country is already going through all this… monsters came and attacked our people… we have to be united. Why (do this) to get cheap popularity on these occasions? “
He also reportedly said :
” “Very unfortunate for a society with free speech when choice of words is deliberately made to insult, humiliate and cause discomfort to the other side. He should not have lack of dictionary words to use. He can use language which does not hurt sentiments of others, use neutral language,”
Now where was the occasion for this fustian outburst ? Judges, particularly in superior courts, should maintain great restraint, and speak little in court, following Sir Francis Bacon ‘s maxim. They should realise that even the oral observations in Court, though technically not binding, can heavily influence the trial court. They should avoid pontification and uttering homilies.
I was also unhappy with the present CJI Gavai’s statement in Mumbai that the chief secretary and Director General of Maharashtra were not at the Mumbai airport to receive him, and I have written an article below in this connection. Judges are for doing justice to the people, not for receiving protocol
