Chief Justice B.R. Gavai of the Supreme Court of India has made explosive remarks, stating that judges themselves are responsible for the general public’s dwindling faith in the judiciary. He expressed this strong stance at a roundtable conference on judicial matters held in the British Supreme Court on Wednesday. The Chief Justice criticized former judges who have taken voluntary retirement before the end of their tenure to become candidates for political parties or have joined government positions after retirement.

According to Justice Gavai, such decisions raise questions about the integrity and ethics of judges, thereby casting doubt on the independence of the judiciary. He questioned what assurance there is that these judges did not deliver verdicts with future personal gain or self-interest in mind. He clearly stated that a judge should, in principle, not accept any government position or constitutional benefit after retirement and should refrain from entering politics. These actions are causing people to lose faith in the judicial system and creating doubts about its ethics.

Protecting Judicial Credibility and Public Trust

The theme of the roundtable conference in London, where the Chief Justice of India expressed his firm position, was ‘Judicial Aptitude and Protecting Public Trust’. Chief Justice Gavai believes that the greatest assets of the judiciary are public trust, an impartial image, and transparency. To maintain this transparency, he supported the public declaration of judges’ assets. He also mentioned that live broadcasting of any hearing is necessary for the same reason. He added that regaining or protecting public trust should be the highest priority of the judiciary. Even the slightest connection of the court with corruption pushes the entire judicial system’s ethics into question.

In the recent past, every trend mentioned by Gavai has been observed. Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned as a judge of the Calcutta High Court before retirement to become a BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha elections and was elected as an MP. In 2019, former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who delivered the verdict in favor of the Ram Mandir construction, became a Rajya Sabha MP as a presidential nominee after his retirement. Additionally, the recent discovery of burnt bundles of notes from Justice Yashwant Varma’s residence has caused significant uproar. These incidents have raised public questions about the judiciary.