'Such Stirs Make Consumers of Justice Suffer': CJI's Remark on Judge Transfer Row in Law Min's Presence

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who on Friday agreed to meet Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association in view of the ongoing protest by lawyers over a judge’s transfer, disapproved such protest measures by advocates, saying that such stirs make “consumers of justice suffer”.

CJI Chandrachud agreed to meet the Gujarat High Court Advocates’ Association on November 21 in view of the ongoing protest by lawyers opposing the Supreme Court collegium’s recommendation to transfer Justice Nikhil S Kariel to Patna High Court.

Addressing the issue on Saturday at an event organised by the Bar Council of India, CJI Chandrachud said, “When lawyers strike, the greatest sufferers are not the lawyers themselves, or the judges, but the consumers of justice, for whom the lawyers exist in the first place”.

“So much of what confronts us can be resolved by dialogue and by understanding. When I was the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, we had a couple of strikes. I would always call upon our lawyers and ask them to talk to me. I would ask them about the problem they were facing and the reason for the strike,” LiveLaw quoted CJI Chandrachud as saying.

The CJI referred to the observations of Dr BR Ambedkar that Satyagraha and strikes, which were very relevant to colonial times, gave way to cooperation, stability, tranquillity, and balance under the home rule.

Law Minister Kiren Rijiju also disapproved of protests by certain lawyer bodies against the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium to transfer some high court judges.

Addressing the same event, Rijiju he said if strikes become a recurring phenomenon for every decision taken by the collegium, “then where will it lead to”.

“Yesterday, I heard some of the lawyers want to meet the chief justice of India for transfer case. Now the issue may be, if you look from isolation, it may be one of the issues.

“But if this becomes a recurring instance for every decision taken by the collegium, on which it is being supported by the government, then where will it lead to. Then the whole dimension will change,” Rijiju said.

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