Despite there being a very clear and categorical diktat by the Supreme Court of India that Judges should not socialize with advocates, there seems no rigorous compliance of this very salutary prescription. Official tea parties within the Court premises may be acceptable. But highly spirited parties, hosted elsewhere could be a potential avenue for Advocates to creep and cultivate convenient relations with Judges. It can also lead to funny, embarrassing and demeaning situations at times. The contact between Advocates and Judges should be restricted to the Court room. This would go a long way in attempting to ensure an independent, unprejudiced, free and fair Judiciary. Temples of Justice should be clean, unbiased and pure. Advocates and more particularly those Senior mascots should desist in organizing and promoting dinners for Judges. A Judge is judged in dispensing Justice freely & fearlessly. No late night wining & dining should be a bait to swing a judgment in favour of those organisers and dinner fund raisers. A good Judge should strictly adhere to that Hippocratic Oath. There should be a total bar on lunches or dinners being hosted for Judges by Advocates. There should be no exception whatsoever to this cardinal rule. Andrew Jackson the 7th President of the United State of America had so rightly said “All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary”.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 10:46:19 +0000