Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said, merits and demerits of the case may be quite different from what is shown in the media.. I have granted bail to everyone from A to Z (from Arnab Goswami to Zubair). This is my philosophy. Bail being the rule and jail the exception, this principle should be followed primarily.
The CJI said at an Indian Express event on Monday that independence of the judiciary does not always mean ruling against the government, but some pressure groups are trying to use electronic media to pressure the court to decide in their favour.
Traditionally independence of the judiciary was defined as independence from the executive. Independence of the judiciary still means independence from the government, but this is not just about the independence of the judiciary.
Pressure groups bring pressure to court He said that our society has changed. Especially with the advent of social media, interest groups and pressure groups are using electronic media to try to pressure the courts to decide in their favor.
The CJI said, if the judges give judgment in favor of these pressure groups, these groups call the judiciary independent. If the judges do not do this then the judiciary is not independent. My objection is to this very thing.
Judges should be given freedom of decision Chandrachud said that I was called an independent when I ruled against the government and canceled the election bonds.
He said that you are very free when you decide on electoral bonds, but you are not free if the decision is in favor of the government. This is not my definition of freedom. Judges should be given freedom to decide cases.
A case has merits and demerits different from those portrayed in the media In the program, the CJI was asked about the delay in hearing the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid, jailed in the Delhi riots case. On this the CJI said- the merits and demerits of the case may be quite different from what is shown in the media.
He said that often a particular aspect or atmosphere of a case is presented in the media. When a judge looks at a case record, what emerges can be quite different from what is shown in the media depending on the merits of the particular case. A judge looks at the relevant matters and then makes a decision.
I gave priority to bail cases After assuming the post of CJI, I decided to give priority to bail cases, as they are matters related to personal liberty, he said. Each bench of the Supreme Court decided to hear at least 10 bail cases.
He said that between November 9, 2022 and November 1, 2024, 21 thousand bail cases were filed in the Supreme Court. 21,358 cases were disposed of during this period. During this period, 901 out of 967 money laundering cases were settled. Bail has been granted in a dozen political cases related to money laundering in recent months.
From Arnab Goswami to Zuber, everyone got bail Chandrachud said – Talking about me, I have bailed out everyone from A to Z (from Arnab Goswami to Zuber) and this is my philosophy. The principle that bail is the rule and jail the exception should be followed prima facie, but has not yet reached the trial court.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
