New Delhi: In a letter to chief justices of high courts across the country, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud wrote Wednesday that “self-reflection and counseling within the judiciary is necessary”. The CJI was referencing a letter by the registrar of the Allahabad High Court seeking an explanation from railway authorities for the inconvenience caused to a Allahabad high court judge during his train journey from New Delhi to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month. ThePrint has seen the CJI’s letter.
In a purported 14 July letter to the general manager of North Central Railways that went viral on social media earlier this week, Allahabad High Court Registrar (Protocol) Ashish Kumar Srivastava appeared to have sought an explanation over “inconvenience” caused to Justice Gautam Chowdhary while he was traveling on 8 July on the Purushottam Express from New Delhi to Prayagraj.
The letter claimed that the judge was not provided refreshments after the train was delayed by more than three hours, causing “great inconvenience and displeasure to his Lordship”.
The CJI’s letter said that a judge of the high court does not possess disciplinary jurisdiction over railway personnel. Therefore, it asserted, “there was no occasion for an officer of the High Court to call for an explanation from the railways personnel”.
The communication, it said, has “given rise to justifiable disquiet both within and outside the judiciary”.
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‘Credibility and legitimacy of judiciary’
“Protocol ‘facilities’ which are made available to judges should not be utilised to assert a claim to privilege which sets them apart from society or as a manifestation of power or authority. A wise exercise of judicial authority, both on and off the Bench, is what sustains the credibility and legitimacy of the judiciary and the confidence which society has in its Judges,” the CJI’s letter said.
The CJI said he was writing to all the chief justices of high courts “with an earnest request to share my concerns with all colleagues across the High Courts”.
The letter added: “Self-reflection and counselling within the judiciary is necessary. Protocol facilities which are made available to Judges should not be used in a manner that is liable to result in inconvenience to others or to bring public criticism of the judiciary.”
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)