Underlining that judgeship is an opportunity to serve nation and its people, Chief Justice of India B R Gavai today urged judges to be courteous in conduct and at the same time responsible towards duties.The CJI acknowledged that there have been concerns raised over rude conduct by judges in courtrooms.
While speaking at a felicitation function organized by the Bombay High Court, he referred to the increasing number of complaints he received regarding the behaviour of judges, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) said,“Lately, I have received a lot of complaints with regard to the rude behaviour from some of the colleagues.”He went on to comment that judgeship is not a routine job but a serious responsibility,“I always believed that an opportunity to serve as a judge is not a ten-to-five job. It's an opportunity to serve the society. It is an opportunity to serve the nation.”
Quoting former CJI and Bombay High Court judge RM Lodha, CJI Gavai added,“Whether to believe in God or not is one’s personal choice. He said that if God has chosen very few of you to serve the society, to serve the nation (as a judge); then what is required is a commitment, what is required is a dedication to the cause of justice.”Stressing the need for a respectful courtroom environment, the Chief Justice further observed,“By rudely behaving with the lawyers or calling the officers of the court now and then, does it serve any purpose? And I think all of my 13 colleagues (judges who Justice Gavai has sat with in the past while serving as a Bombay High Court judge) who have shared Bench with me will agree that if you give the atmosphere in the court (a) pleasant (tone), it also helps you in maintaining your blood pressure and also diabetes, apart from not giving hypertension to the lawyers.”
CJI Gavai also raised concerns over reports of judges not devoting adequate time to court sittings. Without naming anyone, he stated,
“Another disturbing news that I have been receiving about a Bench — I won't name the Bench again because I don't want to be specific — is with regard to some of the judges sitting in court as part-time judges. If you have taken a call to answer to serve the office, then sitting for one hour in the first half and sitting for one hour in the second half belittles your oath. You are not being true to your oath.
Therefore, I call upon each of you to be true to your oath. Do not do anything that will bring disrepute to this august institution.”The CJI also said that lately he has been “receiving a lot of complaints about the rude behaviour of some of the colleagues.”“Being a judge is not a 10 to 5 job, it’s an opportunity to serve society. It is an opportunity to serve the nation,” he stressed, and urged the judges to be “true to their oath and commitment.”
“Please do not do anything which brings disrepute to this august institution, whose reputation has been so laboriously built by the devotion and dedication of generations of lawyers and generations of judges,” he said.
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