Central agencies should deal with synchronised, sponsored attacks against judges on social media: CJI NV Ramana

The increasing attacks on judges, be it physical or on social media, seem sponsored and synchronised and are a matter of grave concern, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said on Friday..He, therefore, urged the Central law agencies to deal with such attacks effectively and governments to ensure a secure environment for judges to enable them to discharge their duties effectively."An area of grave concern for the judiciary is the increasing attacks on judges. Physical attacks on judicial officers are on the rise. Then there are attacks on the judiciary in the media, particularly social media. These attacks appear to be sponsored and synchronised. The law enforcing agencies, particularly the Central agencies, need to deal with such malicious attacks effectively. The governments are expected to create a secure environment so that the judges and judicial officers can function fearlessly," the CJI said.The CJI was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Constitution Day celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan, organised by the Supreme Court Registry.In a speech that had several other talking points as well, CJI Ramana highlighted the need for Central agencies to work effectively to curb physical attacks and malicious social media attacks on judges so that the judiciary can function in a secure environment..Addressing the role played by the judiciary vis-a-vis the executive, the Chief Justice said that the judiciary "has lived up to the faith reposed in it by the Constituent Assembly." CJI Ramana added that the intention behind judicial intervention is to nudge the executive towards unsolved grievances of the citizenry, and not to usurp its role..Speaking on the rising pendency of cases across all levels of the Indian judiciary, the Chief Justice presented the following solutions:Filling up existing vacancies of judicial officersCreation of more postsFilling up vacancies of Public Prosecutors, Government Pleaders and Standing CounselCreation of necessary infrastructure to sensitise the police and the executive about the need to cooperate in court proceedingsDeployment of modern technological toolsTo this end, the need to create state and national-level judicial infrastructure authorities was emphasised, for which the CJI sought the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was also in attendance..Stressing on the need for educational materials to be made available in Indian languages, CJI Ramana also addressed the larger issue of a need to Indianise the judiciary, a term he used to refer to the wide-ranging reforms needed. "The judicial system, as it exists in our country today, is essentially still colonial in nature. It takes no account of the social realities or the local conditions. The procedures followed, the language of arguments and judgments, and the high costs involved are all contributing to alienate the common man from the judicial system. People should feel confident in approaching the courts. Only when litigants get a chance to directly participate, their faith in the process and outcome will be reinforced," the Chief Justice said. .CJI Ramana said that it was heartening to note that the number of vacancies in the top court is just one, with four women judges for the first time in its history, a number he wished to see grow. He stated that the exercise of filling up vacancies across High Courts is an ongoing one.Lauding the services of Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, the Chief Justice said that having a Minister with an understanding of the way the constitutional system functions is "highly appreciated."CJI Ramana ended his speech by saying:"The judiciary has a duty towards the people. On this day, I do not think there is any more patriotic act for the judiciary, than re-dedicating itself to uphold the Constitution in the interest of ‘WE, THE PEOPLE’.".Attorney General (AG) KK Venugopal and PM Narendra Modi also spoke on the occasion. Read about PM Modi's speech here.Read more on speech by AG Venugopal here..[Read full speech by CJI NV Ramana below]