4 p.m. News Network
New Delhi. Chief Justice of the country Justice DY Chandrachud said that when the chief justice of the Supreme Court or the High Court meets the heads of the government, it does not mean any agreement. These meetings are usually related to administrative issues. The judiciary works with complete independence.
This comment by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has sparked the controversy that began after Prime Minister Modi’s arrival at his residence during Ganesh Utsav. The meeting between Prime Minister Modi and the Chief Justice at his residence was criticized by many opposition parties, including the Congress.
Addressing a series of lectures at the University of Mumbai, the CJI said at an event on Saturday that during meetings of chief justices with heads of state or central governments, there is never any discussion of pending cases. There are some tasks that are related to both the judiciary and the government. They are administrative issues. For example, he said such meetings are necessary because state governments release budgets for the judiciary.
The CJI said that this budget is not for judges. How will it work if we don’t meet and depend only on correspondence? In the political system, total maturity is adopted in all these matters. He said, “I have not had any such experience when any Chief Minister has spoken about any pending case.”
The CJI stated that on the administrative side, there is a difference between the functions of the judiciary and the government. It is a tradition for the Chief Minister or the Chief Justice to meet on the occasion of festivals or mourning, but we must certainly have the maturity to understand that this has no relation to our judicial functions. It is possible to improve the collegiate system, but this does not mean that it has any defects.
