Binary Application of Laws

The dictum ‘law is no respecter of person’ has become hollow. The priviligentsia always tweak the system in their favour, and get favourable orders from the court. It has been proved with examples how the privileged and the unprivileged have been treated differently. The privileged are treated differentially and deferentially.

Accountability of Judges

Judges are not above the law. Like the other institutions of the State, the judiciary must be accountable. Chief Justice Edward Coke told King James I point blank that was not above the law and quoted jurist Bracton, Non-sub homine sed sub deo et lege. (The King is under no man, save under God and the law.) Ironically, judges themselves don’t appear to be following this dictum giving an impression that they are above the law. The judiciary should be accountable according to its own reasonings employed for holding all other institutions to account. But it abhors the idea of accountability for itself in the name of its independence. It is a misnomer as independence and accountability are complementary, not antagonistic.

My Lord or Your Excellency

The mode of addressing judges of the higher judiciary as ‘My Lord’ is a colonial hangover. However, judges are reluctant to adapt themselves to democratic mores and cast off the veneer of feudalism even for the sake of tokenism. The same applies to executive authorities like President, Vice-President and Governor. All this goes against the spirit of democracy which is based on the principle of equality.

Introduction

It begins with the issue of accountability of judges and propounds that authority bereft of accountability morphs into authoritarianism. This is the case with the judges of the higher judiciary who are not accountable to any institution though they hold every institution and authority to account. Independence and accountability are complementary to each other, and it is a misconception that accountability robs the judiciary of its independence. It gives the gist of all chapters and adds new materials in the process of elucidation.

Supreme Court’s Power to Do Complete Justice

An extraordinary power given to the apex court under Article 142 to do ‘complete justice’ is being used in a freewheeling manner against the constitutional scheme. Many a time, it is invoked to supersede the substantive law which in many cases is totally uncalled for. Freewheeling of Article 142 is against the constitutional scheme.

Lawyer, Heal Thyself

Lawyers must not be the call girls of money power. Lawyers, the officers of the court, instead of helping the court arrive at justice, derail justice at the instance of their clients. No wonder, they have been reviled from time immemorial for their unethical practices. Gandhiji learnt to regard law not as an intellectual legerdemain to make black appear white and white black, but as ‘codified ethics’. The profession of law became to him the means to enthrone justice, not to ‘entangle justice’ in the net of law.

Judicial Delays

Judicial delays garrote justice. A civil case filed in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1833 is still hanging fire. India has the record of having witnessed a longest contested lawsuit according to the Guinness Book Of World Records. In Pune, on 28th April 1966, Balasaheb Patloji Thorat received a favourable judgment in a suit filed by his ancestor Maloji Thorat 761 years earlier in 1205 CE. Reasons behind the unconscionable delays have been discussed in detail. It is curable provided there is a will and honesty to do it.