VALEDICTORY ADDRESS DELIVERED BY HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE S.B. SINHA, JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ON 25.7.2003 TO NEWLY APPOINTED OFFICERS OF DELHI JUDICIAL SERVICE

I am grateful to the Delhi Judicial Academy for giving me this opportunity to be amidst you this evening. 

First of all, let me congratulate the new recruits to the Delhi Judicial Service who are completing their training today.  It is the third batch of trainees.  My sentimental attachment would remain with these young Judges who are to take up the reigns of judicial system from the next working day as they are the ones with whom I as a member of the Interview Committee had the opportunity to interact during interview. For the same reason my expectations from you are also very high. 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 declares that the Rule of Law should protect human rights so that men avoid resorting to rebellion against tyranny and oppression. Rule of Law also includes the principle that every citizen should have a guarantee of effectively defending himself and his fundamental rights.

Recently, there had been an interesting discussion as to why foreign investment in China is much more than in India. The reasons assigned are commitment of the work force, cheap labour, labour laws besides discipline amongst the working forces.  On a comparison of the infrastructural availability of raw-materials, labour force, bureaurcratic set up, existing laws and other relevant considerations etc., India was found to be a favoured destination for investors only on two counts: (i) India is a country governed by the Rule of Law and (ii) It has an independent and impartial judiciary.

Survival of democracy, therefore, is dependent not only upon existence of the Rule of Law but also a strong and independent judiciary, which can see to it that the Rule of Law is enforced.

For the continued existence and sustenance of a truly democratic State, the administration of justice should be in the hands of not only competent but also impartial, independent and conscientious persons so that justice is rendered and Rule of Law is upheld, which are imperative for a free society.

Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 which is an optional protocol to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, every country shall have to ensure that a citizen shall have an effective remedy for enforcing his rights or freedoms. This is not a new concept. Since the ages, Civilization has recognized the right of every person to seek redressal in a judicial Tribunal. The legal maxim ubi jus ibi remedium is not an empty promise.

Justice is the very basic constitutional concept.

For resolution of disputes between parties, the involvement of a third party forum has been found imperative. The jurisprudence that we have inherited from the British has inbuilt safeguards in it in so far as the disputants are entitled to be represented through their lawyers who would practice their right best.

Getting through successfully into the judicial service, that too Delhi Judicial Service, is the aspiration of thousands of young advocates not only of this city but other parts of country as persons from all over sit in the examination. It cannot be denied that you belong to a prestigious service. How many persons are able to make into this service? There is no other service where one is truly independent and where their conduct can only be judged by their peers. I know how much industry, patience and stern discipline and how many hours of self-denying toil, are represented by you young men and women who have been able to make it to this service.  Those successful entrants form the creamy layer of the judiciary. My sincere wish is-May God grant you the fulfillment of your maturer years and as you make advancements in your career.

All of you had your basic routine education in schoo1 and professional education in law college. All of you have spent some years at the bar also before taking up the judicial service examination. However, for discharge of your duties as judicial officers, how important is the professional training, you must have realised this in this Academy during last four to five months.

However, what I would like to emphasis is that learning is a continuous process and it cannot be more true in the case of legal education. Therefore, you should not feel that your training is over and nothing more is to be learnt by you. In fact as you will experience while discharging your judicial duties, you are learning every day in the court even as a Judge. Take this training in this sense of real education which is going to be of your benefit in the entire career which is ahead of you. Give "education" its real and substantial meaning. Mr. Palkiwala in one of his addresses said that Education has been called the technique of transmitting civilisation. In order that it may transmit civilisation, it has to perform two major functions: it must enlighten the understanding, and it must enrich the character.

The two marks of a truly educated man whose understanding has been enlightened, are the capacity to think clearly and intellectual curiosity. If you have imbibed the ability to think clearly, you will adopt an attitude of reserve towards ideologies that are popular and be critical of the nostrums that are fashionable you will find the truth. Intel1ectual curiosity would enable you to continue and intensify the process of learning even after you have finished your training. This curiosity shall keep you student for life. Once Tej Bahadur Sapra had said, "there is no presumption that judges know but there is every presumption that lawyers know law". However, some jurists are of the opinion that the judges and lawyers alike are students of law.

Second function of education, as I told you, is enriching the character. What we need today more than anything else is moral leadership-founded on courage, intellectual integrity and a sense of values. If you have been able to build this character during the course of your training only then I shall consider that this Academy has fulfilled its objective of imparting you the necessary training. You, as members of Delhi Judicial Service, are one of the important wings of administration.  In the course of your duties you would be discharging essential sovereign function of dispensing justice.

            We have given ourselves a beautiful Constitution with high moral tone. However, it is widely accepted that it is not the letters of the Constitution but the people who manage the same, make it successful. India has been a great country with one of the greatest and oldest civilisation to boast about.

However, that is what India was once upon a time. We cannot, with equal authority, claim this to be present-day India. 

The adversarial system, which is one of the great 1egacies of the British ru1e in India, has worked reasonably well for centuries.  However, in view the docket explosion the faith and confidence in the Judiciary has undergone substantial erosion. The functioning of the system is also being questioned in different quarters having regard to the procedural wrangles, enormous costs and inordinate delay involved in it. 

Justice delivery system in India is bursting at the seams and may collapse unless immediate remedial measures are adopted not only by the judiciary but also by the legislature and the executive.

Different wings of the State are plagued with corruption, nepotism, red tappism. There is hardly any law and order in this society. There are problems of poverty, hunger, mal-nutrition, food adulteration. Even after more than 50 years of independence we have not been able to provide drinking water to the people of this country. Criminals are ruling the roost with large scale crimes, including murders, decoities and white-col1ar crimes which have assumed frightening and varied proportions. Women are not safe. There are frequent incidents of rape, molestation, sexual harassment at workplaces, cases of bride burning and dowry deaths.

Courts were seen as a last resort by the commoners of this country with a hope that it would remove these ills with which society is suffering. However, today even judiciary is at cross roads and it is a matter of concern to all of us. People had lost faith in other two wings of the State much earlier. Faith of common man in judiciary is also being eroded.

Article 14 of the Constitution of India speaks of reasonableness. Is it too much for a litigant having regard to the doctrine of reasonableness to look forward to an honest judgment within a reasonable time, inasmuch as the said doctrine encompasses within its fold that all actions must be taken within a reasonable time? Would it also be too much to ask the legal fraternity to render all cooperations so as that court are in a position to perform their duties?

People indisputably have been trying to avoid law Courts. Sometimes they are forced to do so as is the case in some of the districts of the State of Jharkhand, State of Bihar, and State of Andhra Pradesh etc. where people are forced to take their disputes only to the Courts run by the extremists. It is said that justice is instantly delivered there but in a very crude form. Apart from the fact that severe punishments are meted out even for minor offences; innocents are also punished so severely that the same runs contrary to all canons of a civilized society.  Extra constitutional Courts, thus, have also started functioning.

Should we, being a part of the society, allow this to happen? When for avenging a murder another murder takes place; when a landlord instead of approaching the Court of law hires the services of goons or where the services of the criminals are hired for settling all types of disputes; can we say that we are living in a civilized society governed by the Rule of Law? Answer to this question must be rendered in the negative.

Our Criminal justice delivery system also bears a big question mark. Only 30 to 35 per cent of the existing criminal cases end in conviction. 90 to 95 per cent of the matters involving heinous offences end in acquittal. In contrast when the rate of conviction in Japan in 1997 came down from 99 per cent to 96 per cent, a Commission of Inquiry was set up for the purpose of finding out as to whether more false cases are being registered.

Take another instance when our criminal justice delivery system came up for severe criticism. Nadeem was sought to be extradited to India in connection with the murder of Shri Gulshan Kumar but the Courts in England turned down the prayer, inter alia, on the ground of a poor justice delivery system in India.

For the shortcomings of the investigating agencies or the witnesses turning hostile, the judiciary is being blamed. Our criminal justice delivery system is constantly under attack from all quarters. A picture that the entire system has collapsed is being painted. We have to overcome all this. Task is gigantic. It may even appear to be very difficult. However, there should not be pessimism. There is always a ray of hope with new generation coming and taking up the challenge. You belong to that generation. Be idealistic and take courage to even fight the system where it is going to be wrong.

During this period of your training you must have been stuffed with the sermons on the moral values; what should be the qualities of a good Judge, how a judicial officer should conduct himself inside and outside the Court, culture of a Judge, do's and don'ts to be practiced by a Judge et al. Therefore, I am not going to give you any such sermon today. Wherever, in the discharge of your duties you are able to redress a wrong, you should not hesitate in de-throwning that wrong. You should be a person with high moral fibre. Character, commitment and capacity should be your hallmark. Simplicity and clarity should be your virtues. You have to achieve excellence in the administration of your duties. You have to restore the faith of people in the system.

There should be adherence to law. When you work according to law and not according to the whims or the dictates of others, your decision shall be flawless and would be ultimately appreciated. Therefore, you should administer your office with due regard to the integrity of system of law remembering that you are not a depository of arbitrary power but an administrator under the sanction of law.

All this can be achieved if you pledge today that you shall endeavour to become the enlightened citizen of this country. Most of the ills with which society is suffering can be cured if people of this country have character and Judges of this country have to be the first ones to strive for it. Imbibe citizenship values and practice them.

 We require a new vision accompanied by a concrete strategy to accomplish it.  The whole emphasis is to develop a legal system, which does not stop at declaring rights but backs it up with concrete steps to enforce them.

The necessity of training the Judges and Judicial Officers also need not be over-emphasised. Such training is required for developing the skills and personality of a Judge. It is required so that he may apprise himself of his functions and duties and the judicial approach and conduct expected of him.

We are now in the new economy, which includes Information Technology, Entertainment and Communications. The face of the corporate sector is completely changed as the Old Economy giving way to the New Economy with a rapid economic change. In this environment and atmosphere, law cannot remain static and it has to cope up with the fast changes especially on economic matters due to liberalization.

The interpretation of law depends upon the need in the society. We must take notice of the changes in it. What at one point of time might be possible may not be possible in a changed situation. New areas of law are emerging, for example, intellectual property rights, information technology, cyber crime, international law, new interpretative canons and in particular interpretation with reference to the intentional treaties, declarations and conventions, anti trust law, competition law, commercial arbitration, alternative disputes resolution mechanism, new arenas of fundamental rights, human rights, environment and convergence etc. Tomorrow, new technologies are going to develop. E-Courts at Mysore have started functioning.  Other Courts would follow sore. E-filing in  Supreme Court and in some other High Courts is not a distant dream. Video-conferencing to examine witnesses has now received the approval of the Supreme Court in The State of Maharashtra Vs. Dr. Praful B. Desai, JT 2003 (3) SC 382.

If you imbibe the qualities and discharge your duties with sincerity and devotion we can hope to restore the credibility into the system. And if every person discharges his duties sincerely we can again put our great nation on the same pedestal as it was.

Some of us thought of bringing the Delhi Judicial Academy into existence and cherished the dream that it becomes one of the best judicial academy in the country. I have no doubt that Hon'ble the Chief Justice and Hon'ble Judges of the Delhi High Court as also the Director and other officers of the Academy would make every endeavour to see that this dream comes true.

Again I wish you and my country good luck.