Judges, not deities, it is dangerous to think of court as temple of justice: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday observed that calling the court a temple of justice and equating judges with gods is dangerous.

Addressing the Eastern Zone-II Regional Conference of the National Judicial Academy in Kolkata, he said, “Too often we are addressed as Honour, Lordship or Ladyship. There is a very grave danger when people say that a court is a temple of justice. There is a grave danger if we see ourselves as deities in these temples.”

He then added: “I would prefer to transform the role of a judge into a servant of the people. And when you see yourselves as people who are there to serve others, then you introduce the concept of compassion, empathy, judging, but not judging others.”

The CJI said that even when passing judgment in a criminal case, judges do so with compassion because ultimately a person is convicted.

Justice Chandrachud further said that it was important to understand the importance of constitutional morality such as the pursuit of diversity, integration and tolerance.

He said: “These concepts of constitutional morality… are crucial not only for Supreme Court and High Court judges, but also for the district judiciary itself, because the involvement of ordinary citizens begins primarily with the district judiciary. “

First message: 2024-06-29 at 15:22 IST