CJI Bobde’s Misconceived Notion of Justice and the Role of the Judges!

CJI Bobde seems to have a strange notion of justice. He has already made justice conditional. On one occasion he asked the petitioner to come to the court after stopping rioting and on another occasion, he declared citizenship dependent on doing one’s duty.

His latest observation in the series is shocking.

Hearing Harsh Mander’s petition for orders to file FIRs against the people making hate speeches, he has reportedly said that he would hear him only after verifying whether he had said at a meeting that he had no faith in the S.C. implying that he would not hear his petition if he really expressed his lack of trust in the Supreme Court.

If he really said all these, then one has no alternative but to conclude that he has neither any notion of the people’s right to justice nor of the judges’ obligation to dispense it.

The people have no trust in the police. Does that give the police the right to refuse to record a FIR or protect them from an attack on their life or property or refuse to protect a woman from rape?

Many, especially among the minorities, have no faith in the BJP government’s role as their protector. Does it give the BJP governments the right to disown the responsibility of protecting the life, liberty and property of those who do not trust them?

CJI Bobde’s approach has very dangerous implications for the people and the country.

I would urge the legal fraternity to find an appropriate and effective way to draw his attention to his misconceived notion of justice and the duty of the judges and the courts (including the Supreme Court) to the people and the country.

What is proper course for the CJI

* The proper course for the CJI is to issue notice to Harsh Mander for contempt of court and decide the case on merit. What he has done is legally untenable and morally reprehensible.

Prabhakar Sinha

5 March, 2020