It is no exaggeration that the common man can have no hope in our judiciary. The whole system is hijacked by a few dynasties of lawyers and judges. Go to any court in any part of India, lawyers behave like slaves, except the elite. The elites consider the courts as their private property. While SLPs of ordinary lawyers are dismissed in seconds, those of the elite are heard leisurely. During hearings, even on admission days, I have witnessed that they exchange not mere pleasantries but discuss things that happened while on holidays abroad. The camaraderie among them is so manifest, there is not even a veil.
What is the remedy? The first thing is to abolish the Collegium; second, senior designations; third, live streaming of the proceedings of courts; fourth, abolish contempt of court.
It is on record that the legendary Justice Y.V. Chandrachud met then President Shri K.R. Narayanan requesting him to sign the appointment of his son, D.Y. Chandrachud, as CJI, pleading that any delay would spoil his chance to become Chief Justice of India. It is not that Justice Y.V. Chandrachud is the only person who sought such a favor. Nobody without a godfather is ever appointed as a judge before the age of 45, not even before 48. This has led to the scenario where all CJIs and even CJs of High Courts are the kith and kin of dynasties of lawyers and judges and a few political heavyweights. This is the root cause of the sense of arrogance and entitlement, one of the greatest evils our judiciary is facing. The Government is helpless. The elite dynasties, which include Prashant Bhushan, using PILs, have made the political executive subordinate to and fearful of the judges. Our judges are king emperors. They wield tyrannical powers. The slightest dissent is crushed using the power of contempt. Justice Krishna Iyer once told me he was afraid of the judges, because he felt his criticism was not taken gracefully.
In the midst of total darkness and gloom, there is a ray of hope: Gen Z.