SC's role as people's court must be preserved: CJI

Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said the role of the Supreme Court as a people's court must be preserved for the future, but it does not mean that it has to fulfil the role of an Opposition in Parliament.

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He said one is entitled to criticise the court for the inconsistency of legal doctrine or an error, but one cannot look at its role or its work from the perspective of outcomes.

The CJI was addressing the first Supreme Court Advocates On Record Association (SCAORA) Conference in South Goa.

“The access to justice paradigm of the Supreme Court, which has been developed over the last 75 years, is something that we should not lose track of,” he said. When societies grow and evolve into prosperity and affluence, there is a perception that you should be looking at only the big-ticket items. Ours is not a court like that. Ours is a court which is a people's court and I think the role of Supreme Court as people's court must be preserved for the future, he said. “Now, being a people's court is not to say that we fulfil the role of the opposition in Parliament,” the CJI said.