NEW DELHI: Terming the controversy over the PM’s visit to his residence for Ganpati puja as “unnecessary, unwarranted and illogical”, CJI D Y Chandrachud on Sunday said heads of political executive visit judges’ houses for social occasions but independence of judiciary is so deeply entrenched that judicial matters are “never ever discussed”.
The PM and CMs do visit the residences of the CJI, CJs of high courts and judges on social occasions like children’s marriage or festivities, but “I cannot recount a single occasion where either the CJI or judges of the SC ever discussed any judicial matter with the executive heads of the Union or states. Except for exchange of pleasantries, no other matter is discussed,” the CJI told TOI.
“There is enough maturity among judges of constitutional courts and the heads of the executive to firmly keep aside judicial matters out of the purview of any discussion. The protocol is so very strict that judicial matters are never ever discussed with heads of political executive,” he said.
“We know our duties in the democratic system of governance and the political executive know theirs. No judge, least of them the CJI or CJs, can even remotely invite any threat, actual or perceived, to the independence of judiciary,” he added.
CJI Chandrachud said whenever the CJI or CJs meet the head of the Union or state govts, the discussions centre around the inadequacy of infrastructure for the judiciary, which faces a huge backlog of cases. “After a CJ of HC or CJI takes oath, there is a formal meeting between him and the head of the political executive centred around making good the deficiencies in judicial infrastructure, the issues and allocation of funds and related administrative issues,” he said.