Transparency in Judicial Appointments and Functioning

The Judiciary is the sentinel of human rights, a watch dog of democracy and an institution to keep checks and balances when legislators exceed their authority in law making. The credibility of an independent and apolitical judicial institution lies not in meting out sentences, imprisonment and imposing fine but in faith,confidence and trust of a common man. Its unfortunate whenever there is a debate or discussion on judicial accountability, there are judges who contend as they are not directly elected by the people they are not accountable, In a democracy no institution can be unaccountable as unaccountability defeats the purpose of a sustainable democracy.

Judicial activism has provided corrective measures whenever there has been abdication of responsibility by the executive and legislature. No matter come what may judicial activism is justified It can't encroach on the domain of legislative prerogatives. Appointments of judges is still done by a collegium which is nothing but a coterie and seniority is considered a norm of having relatively greater judicial mind. The change of assignments of nature and kind of cases in High courts and Supreme court causes delay in justice delivery as all judges are not versatile and possess the wherewithal do deal in any kind of legal dispute as judges too come from a background in which as lawyers they had a specific expertise, so when a judge from a civil background is allocated with criminal matters to deal in, he may not be as efficient as a judge from purely criminal background.

Its surprising when judges were reluctant to declare their assets and be under the ambit of Right to Information Act. A judge has to work like a horse and live like a hermit. Just and fair criticism of the courts leads to incurring the wrath of judges by invocation of contempt laws, there have been times when valid criticism in public interest has led to journalists and other right thinking members of civil society being hauled up for contempt. Unrestrained and whimsical use of contempt powers to haul up conscientious journalists and members of civil society who are critical of judiciary is judicial despotism and constitutional blasphemy. After all justice is crowing of virtues and judicial functioning must be with an objective of undoing the wrong and remedying the wronged.