Judiciary to stand up against waves of populism: CJI

Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has said that the judiciary has to "rise and stand up" against the growing waves of populism and the populist forces as the legislative and executive get swept away from their duties and goals under the Constitution.

In his address to Chief Justices and judges of the countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), Gogoi said “to some critics and naysayers, this situation presents a case for hoisting the classical counter-narrative – unelected Judges, acting under the Constitutional mandate, get to overturn the acts of the elected majority."

However, it is for us to recollect that such situations across the world have heaped tremendous pressure on the judicial organs, and it is no surprise that in some jurisdictions Judiciary too has succumbed to populist forces, he said

In his speech at Russia's Sochi, the CJI said the Judiciary has to prepare itself, to strengthen itself against such populist onslaughts on the independence of the Institution.

"The human agency, through which justice is sought to be administered, has to be adequately secured and fortified in ordinary times, so that it is sufficiently equipped to deal with such forces of populism in extra-ordinary times, lest they overrun the judicial edifice too. This would be our strongest case for strengthening the independence of Judiciary”, he said.

He said that independence could be said to be the very soul of a functional Judiciary.

“Whatever be the political system of governance, people across nations aspire for a free and independent Judicial system to serve them”, he said.

He cautioned if the deliverables of a judicial system are not known to be impartial, just, equitable and appealing to good conscience, such system would never earn public confidence and high esteem in the minds and hearts of the common citizens.