Whenever the Bar has a problem, the Bench will not give it the cold shoulder, CJI Ranjan Gogoi

Whenever the Bar has a problem, the Bench will not give it the cold shoulder, said India’s 46th Chief Justice, Ranjan Gogoi.

“Your good wishes matter a lot to me. I will try and do what is good. I don’t know how far I would succeed but I am confident that I will have your trust“, he said, while stating that he was not prepared for such a warm welcome.

He was speaking at a felicitation function organized by the Bar Council of India on Saturday, to welcome and honour the newly appointed Chief Justice of India.

The function held at BCI’s New Delhi Office witnessed the presence of Supreme Court judges Justice NV Ramana, Justice Arun Mishra and Justice MM Shantanagoudar, as well as judges from various High Courts. Representatives of State Bar Councils and Senior Advocates were also in attendance.

The welcome address was delivered by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. 

Remarking that his tenure as an advocate has been longer than his tenure as a judge, CJI Gogoi said,

“All judges are alive to the problems of the Bar. We are a part of you and you are a part of us.”

He, however, evaded the topic of lawyers’ right to strike by saying that he would not get into the legality of the issue at this moment.

Speaking on BCI’s role as a regulator of legal education in India, CJI Gogoi remarked that it is a “huge power and responsibility” and that the BCI must look into the quality of legal education in India.

CJI Gogoi then took the opportunity to reflect on the state of legal aid in India. He said,

“We have panel lawyers who are volunteering to do legal aid for a very small remuneration, but the quality of lawyers who offer legal aid needs to improve.“

He stated that presently, there are 15 cases per thousand population in India, but with progress on the economic, social and political fronts, “we must be prepared to tackle more inflow of cases“.

He observed,

“Lawyer-population ratio will grow with increase in number of cases, and the Bar Council has an important role to play“.

While CJI Gogoi refrained from speaking on the issue of strikes, Justice Mishra declared, in unequivocal terms, that lawyers cannot have a right to strike.

“Can we afford jungle Raj? Can we shut doors of rule of law for common man? You have no right to go on strike“, he said.

Justice Mishra however agreed that the Bar can go to a strike only in “exceptional cases“, like “when democracy or very judicial system is in danger“.

 Welcoming the new CJI, Justice Mishra said,

“Let’s begin with hope, I have full confidence that Indian judicial system which has survived several turmoil, is strong enough to show the world that we are independent and transparent.”

He then appealed to the BCI to check the “mushroom growth of law colleges” in India. Justice Mishra also called upon the BCI to reduce the disparity in quality of legal education across colleges in the country.

“There are several good colleges, but somewhere it’s grey and somewhere it’s complete darkness. Please take care of this difference“, he said.

He concluded his address by acknowledging that “the (judicial) system requires improvement everyday“. He said,

“Judges are working a little more, we expect the same from the Bar.”