Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, during the inaugural session of the two-day East Zone II Regional Conference of the National Judicial Academy in Kolkata, emphasized the dangers of equating judges with gods. He stressed that the role of judges is to serve public interest, not to be revered as deities.
CJI Chandrachud expressed his discomfort with the notion of the court as a “temple of justice,” which implies that judges occupy a deity-like position.
He remarked, “Too very often, we are addressed as Honour or as Lordship or as Ladyship. There is a very grave danger when people say that the court is a temple of justice. There is a grave danger that we perceive ourselves as the deities in those temples.”
He advocated for viewing judges as servers of the people, promoting compassion and empathy.
“I would rather recast the role of the judge as a server of the people. And when you regard yourselves as people who are there to serve others, then you bring in the notion of compassion, of empathy, of judging but not being judgmental about others,” the CJI added.
He said that even while sentencing anyone in a criminal case, the judges do that with a sense of compassion, since at the end, a human being is being sentenced.
The Chief Justice also said, “The word ‘contemporary’ is very important because it does not speak about the work which we do in the abstract, but in the context of contemporary societal challenges which we as judges face in the work we do. We, therefore, look at the law and its intersection of technology from the perspective of the societal conditions in which those whom we serve exist in our societies.”
Addressing the theme of the conference, CJI Chandrachud underscored the importance of “constitutional morality” in the judiciary, which engages with contemporary societal challenges. He stated, “The true merit of our work lies in addressing challenges faced by those at whose feet we are intended to serve—the common citizens of India,” he said.
He discussed the importance of “constitutional morality,” which he defined as addressing contemporary societal challenges faced by judges. He stated that the judiciary’s commitment to constitutional morality goes beyond abstract concepts and engages with real societal issues.
“The true merit of our work lies in addressing challenges faced by those at whose feet we are intended to serve—the common citizens of India,” he said.
The Chief Justice also warned against allowing personal values and beliefs to influence judgments contrary to constitutional values. He highlighted the significance of preserving India’s diversity within its federal structure and noted that constitutional morality is reflected in the societal values outlined in the Constitution’s Preamble.
“We could be masters of Constitutional interpretation, but a just society is established with the court’s vision of Constitutional Morality,” he said.
He emphasized that constitutional morality involves a dialogue within and between societies, not just between the state and its citizens. This principle should guide judges at all levels, including those in the district judiciary, where the common citizen’s engagement with the judicial system begins.
Emphasizing the role of technology in the judiciary, CJI Chandrachud pointed out that language barriers hinder access to and understanding of court verdicts, often written in English. He highlighted ongoing efforts to develop AI-assisted software to translate 37,000 Supreme Court judgments into all constitutionally recognized regional languages.
“Technology can provide us with some answers. We are translating 51,000 judgments into other languages,” he said, underlining the judiciary’s efforts to make legal outcomes more accessible to the public.
He outlined other technology-driven measures to improve judicial efficiency, such as digitizing Supreme Court judgments, decentralizing court access to reduce travel burdens on litigants, increasing public awareness of court procedures, and categorizing cases effectively.
