CJI DY Chandrachud
– Photo: ANI (File)
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Chief Justice (CJI) DY Chandrachud said that if the judiciary has to be independent, it has to be protected from outside influences. Defending the collegium system of appointment of judges, Chandrachud said that not every system is perfect, but it is the best system. We have to protect the judiciary from outside influences, he said.
The CJI expressed displeasure over the government’s reasons for not approving the names recommended by the Supreme Court collegium for appointment as judges of constitutional courts. He said what is wrong in having a difference of opinion? But, I have to deal with such differences with a strong sense of constitutional acumen. I do not want to get involved in issues with the Law Minister. We are bound to have a difference of opinion.
Rijiju has been quite vocal against the collegium system and once called it ‘alien’ to the Constitution. Justice Chandrachud said there was no pressure from the government on how to decide the cases. “In my 23 years as a judge, no one told me how to decide a case,” he said. There is no pressure from the government. The CJI said that the decision of the Election Commission is proof that there is no pressure on the judiciary.
