“Who goes to the court? You go to the court and regret”, the former Chief Justice said at the India Today conclave East on Thursday.
Former Chief Justice of India and Rajya Sabha member Ranjan Gogoi, speaking at an India Today Conclave East on Thursday, criticised the judiciary and said if one goes to Indian courts they would have to wait endlessly for a verdict.
“Who goes to the court? You go to the court and regret”, Gogoi said adding that it is those who can afford to take chances, like the big corporates, who approach the courts.
“If you go to court, you don’t get a verdict, all you do is wash your dirty linen,” Justice Gogoi said, adding that the judiciary in India is in a “ramshackled” state.
“How important the judiciary is as a constitutional body need not be emphasised. You want a 5 trillion-dollar economy, but your judiciary is ramshackled,” the former CJI said.
He said the subordinate courts in India added about 60 lakh new cases to their workload in 2020. Similarly, the figure of pending cases in High Courts have risen by about three lakh and the Supreme Court admitted 6,000-7,000 new cases in the previous year, he added. This implies that there are about 4 crore pending cases in the subordinate courts, a little over 44 lakh cases in the High Courts, and about 70,000 in the Supreme Court.
The Rajya Sabha member, talking about a roadmap for the judiciary in this context, said: “The roadmap I have in mind is to have the right man for the job. You don’t appoint judges the same way you appoint officers in the government. To judge is a full-time commitment. It is a passion. There are no working hours. It is a 24/7 job.”
While talking about the allegations raised by TMC Mp Mahua Moitra in Lok Sabha against him, Justice Gogoi said he would not take any legal recourse against Moitra. “What is this attack?” he asked. “Does a former judge ever get cowed down by attacks?”
Stressing that Ms Moitra didn’t have her facts right, the former CJI said: If you are making allegations, at least name the person. I have a name and I deserve to be named. Those allegations are wrong in facts.”
Responding to the allegations of sexual misconduct against him, he said: “No discussion about the judiciary is complete without reference to that case.”
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