Mathews J Nedumpara
98205 35428
Delhi.
Suo motu PIL in the matter of ill-treatment of lawyers in the Supreme Court today ie.11th May 26.
Across the width and breadth of this country, judges of the superior courts including the SC, I am afraid to say, behave as emperors and ill-treat lawyers and litigants except for a minority of noble and upright judges who follow the path of righteousness and humility like the legendary Justices Krishna Iyer, Bhagwati, Khanna, Matthew, Vivian Bose, Vasifdar, Thakur to name a few.
There can be no solution to this great aberration and malaise unless we are able to find out the real reason behind it.
The primary reason is Articles 226 and 32 which have conferred discretionary, prerogative writ jurisdiction on the High Court and Supreme Court judges. These Articles have literally made Judges king-emperors.
Article 32 is unworkable; for it to work we need a Supreme Court of at least 1000 judges and a further Court of Appeal to provide at least one forum of appeal.
Articles 226 unwittingly reintroduced the dual stream of justice which was abolished in England by the Judicature Acts 1872-75.
Before the Constitution came into existence we had a constitutional statute, the Government of India Act. It recognized the concept of judicial review. The Civil Court was the true constitutional court. And it delivered justice based on law and equity. The civil courts, at least in theory, continue even today as the true constitutional court, which many lawyers and judges are unaware of.
The other reason is the Collegium and senior designation systems. The judges determine the fate of a lawyer. Because it is they who make a lawyer a judge or senior advocate. A lawyer cannot afford to stand up against corruption or judicial improbity or misbehavior except at the cost of his career. The bar is dead. The lawyers have become sycophants. They vie among themselves to be in the good books of the judges.
In this depressing scenario the video recording of court proceedings, live streaming and preservation of such records is the only guarantee against judicial corruption, arrogance and ill-treatment. The other being restoration of the pristine glory of the civil courts.
I am grateful to Chief Justice Surya Kant for taking suo motu cognisance of the ill treatment of lawyers and litigants which is required to be addressed on a war footing.
The solution is simple. Live streaming of court proceedings and preservation of such records for a reasonable time.