BENGALURU: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday said managing stress and achieving work-life balance, among judges, especially district judges is important.
At the 21st Biennial State Level Conference of Judicial Officers on the theme of ‘Equity and Excellence for Futuristic Judiciary’, speaking on ‘work and life balance’, he told district judges, “Sometimes, litigants and lawyers cross the line, but we are not to use the power of contempt but to understand why they have crossed the line. There must be deep-rooted injustice. In such situations, the judicial officers must remain calm, and their approach should be compassionate. Before you heal others, you must learn to heal yourself.”
Narrating a recent incident, he said, “We live in difficult times of social media where the work we do is constantly being assessed. The Supreme Court has put all its important hearings on a live streaming platform and is watched all over the country. But we can also be trolled... I will just give an example. Just 4-5 days back when I was hearing a case, I had a little pain in the back. All that I did was placed my elbows in my arm-chair and just shifted my position. That video was doctored so as to delete that part of what followed thereafter. A large amount of social media comments was that the CJI is so arrogant, that he got up in the midst of an important argument in the court. This is the position of CJI. The judges in taluk courts don’t have protection,” he observed.
He said the performance of district judiciary in Karnataka in disposal of cases should be replicated all over the country.
He said that 20.62 lakh cases have been disposed of by the district judiciary in Karnataka of the total 21.25 lakh cases between January 1, 2023, and March 23, 2024. On the sub-theme of the conference ‘Women and the Judiciary’, he said the representation of women in district judiciary is heartening, and signifies tremendous progress. Across India, women constitute 37 per cent of the working strength in district judiciary. In Karnataka, of the total working strength of 447 civil judges, 200 are women, or 44%, leading the social transformation across India, he said.
He said that a mere increase in the number of women is not sufficient. The next step is to create an atmosphere conducive for women judicial officers to carry out their functions effectively, without hindrances and as equal participants in the justice delivery mechanism.
Four years ago, the Karnataka HC provided sanitary napkin vending machines. Such initiatives have to be spread to district courts across the nation, especially at the district level, he added. Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court NV Anjaria said judges in the district judiciary are the backbone of the institution and district judiciary is the foundation of the common man’s faith.