New Delhi: Chief Justice of India HL Dattu on Sunday emphasised the need for continuous "institutional dialogue" and "coordinated effort" among legislature, executive and judiciary to resolve issues related to delivery of justice including the pendency of cases in courts.
Addressing a joint conference of Chief Justices of High Courts and Chief Ministers, Dattu also pitched for "financial autonomy" to judiciary in spending allocated funds and better pay packages for judicial officers to attract the best minds.
"Judiciary and Parliament are siblings. Both are children of democracy," he said and underscored that legislature, executive and judiciary have to work as "equal partners" in administration of justice and they should hold hands and correct each other.
"...The difficulty in finding agreement does not mean we would not discuss.... It is important that we are open to suggestions, open to think out of box," Dattu said noting that the continuance of the "institutional dialogue" among the three pillars of the democracy is important. "Issues concerning administration of justice are so complex. They cannot be addressed by judiciary alone.... The executive also has a stake. Only a well-coordinated effort between the legislative, executive and the judiciary will achieve it."
Noting that the issue of pendency of cases in courts, cannot be solved by the judiciary alone, the CJI said, "It requires efforts on multiple fronts and multiple agencies" including drastic change in administration of police and the work by the prosecution agencies apart from judicial reforms.
Maintaining that the Supreme Court has taken a number of wide ranging measures to arrest pendency of cases, he said it has yielded results. "In an effective democracy, the solution does not mean only the removal of problem.... We must be able to feel the pulse of the people," he said.
Batting for "financial autonomy" for judiciary in spending allocated funds, Dattu said while it is Government's prerogative to decide the allocation, the judiciary should be given the financial autonomy regarding the sue. "Within the allocated budget, the judiciary must have sufficient autonomy," he said. He flagged the issue of low pay packages of judicial officers in India in comparison to the pay and perks of personnel in some other countries or those working in law firms, saying this has to be addressed to attract the top brains to the bench.
Noting that it is a "great hindrance" in attracting youths towards judiciary where the judges to people ratio stands at one judge per 1,865 citizens, Dattu said that the most urgent need is to "ensure that the best minds adorn the bench". He said that they will not join the judiciary if they do not see it as a viable option.
Dattu said the "stark reality" of the difference in remuneration would be evident if it is compared with what the judicial officers are getting in some other countries or what somebody is paid in a legal firm. In his speech, Dattu also talked about the role of technology in quicker dispensation of justice.
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