Judge resigning to contest polls may affect public perception: Justice Gavai

A judge resigning from office to immediately contest elections may affect the public perception of his impartiality, Supreme Court Justice B.R. Gavai has said, asserting that judicial ethics and integrity are fundamental pillars that uphold the credibility of the legal system.

Justice Gavai was addressing an annual conference for judicial officers of Gujarat on 20 October, Saturday.

"Judicial ethics and integrity are fundamental pillars that uphold the credibility of the legal system. A judge's conduct while on the bench and off the bench must be in consonance with the highest standards of judicial ethics. A judge praising a politician or a bureaucrat while in office and outside the scope of courtesy may affect the public's trust in the judiciary as a whole," he emphasised.

"For instance, a judge of the Supreme Court of America had to apologise for comments criticising a presidential candidate. Another example is that if a judge resigns from his office to immediately contest elections it may affect public perception of his impartiality," Justice Gavai asserted.

While he named no names, the most recent example of a judge resigning from office and joining politics is that of Abhijit Gangopadhyay, who quit the Calcutta High Court to join the BJP.

Yet another fairly recent example is that of former Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, appointed as CJI on 3 October 2018 and currently a member of the Rajya Sabha, having been nominated by then President Ram Nath Kovind on 16 March 2020.

Judges making broad statements outside the scope of specific cases, especially regarding sensitive topics such as gender, religion, caste and politics etc is a matter of concern, Justice Gavai added.

Speaking on the topic of 'Trust Deficit - Eroding the Credibility of Judicial Institutions - Ways and Means to Combat the Truth Decay', the SC judge said another theoretical reason why public trust in the judiciary must be kept intact is that a trust deficit might push people to seek justice outside the formal judicial system.

"This might be through informal ways of vigilantism, corruption, and mob justice. This can lead to erosion of law and order in society, causing the public to hesitate in filing cases and appealing decisions," he pointed out.

He also said prolonged litigation and slow-moving court procedures create disenchantment with the legal system. Delay in delivery of justice makes it difficult to ensure fair trial and erodes trust in the judicial system, creating perceptions of injustice and inefficiency, Justice Gavai said. Delays harm the accused who are later found innocent and also exacerbate overcrowding in prisons, he added.

Emphasising the need for the judiciary to stand independent from both the executive and the legislative, the apex court judge said, "Any encroachment upon the judiciary's autonomy, whether through political interference, legislative overreach or executive interference, undermines the very concept of impartial justice."

Enabling video conferencing and live-streaming of constitutional bench proceedings are steps towards increasing transparency and accessibility, as these allow the public to observe trials and rulings in real-time, he said.

"However, short clips of court proceedings presented out of context can create wrong perceptions about the judge. There is need to develop appropriate guidelines on live streaming of court proceedings to curb the misuse of clips being circulated out of context," Justice Gavai said.

With PTI inputs