Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jun 26 (PTI) Chief Justice of India B R Gavai on Thursday said he supported the demand to set up a bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, stating that justice should be available to every citizen “in every corner”.
Gavai, who took oath as the 52nd CJI last month, was speaking here at his felicitation organised by the Advocates Association of the Bombay High Court, Aurangabad bench.
The Bombay High Court currently has circuit benches at Goa, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Nagpur besides its principal bench in Mumbai.
“Every time there is a demand for Kolhapur bench of the Bombay High Court, I have supported it and given the example of the Aurangabad bench,” CJI Gavai said.
More cases are filed in the Aurangabad bench now than those in the Bombay bench of the High Court, he added.
“It is not financially possible for everyone to come to Bombay (Mumbai) for each and every hearing. Every citizen in every corner should get justice without having to spend much time and money,” he said.
CJI Gavai further said the Supreme Court collegium has always strived to select judges for the apex court and high courts on the basis of merit.
“At the collegium, we have always strived to make selection as per merit. We never wondered about the candidate’s caste, religion or class; we only looked at their ability and if they deserved the post,” he said.
The Supreme Court should work as the Supreme Court of all the judges, and not just that of the Chief Justice of India, and hence all decisions have to be taken unanimously, the CJI said.
A judge cannot work in silos, he said, adding that being a judge is not a nine-to-five job. It is a service to the nation but also a tightrope walk, Gavai added.
The CJI got a little emotional while reminiscing about a health scare he faced here in 2006 while playing tennis with fellow judges. “During the last ball I fell sick, and was rushed to the hospital,” he recalled. PTI AW SP KRK
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