Longer tenure for Chief justice

 By the time Chief Justices have understood the functioning of the Court, it is time for them to retire

बहुत ही कम समय के लिए चीफ़ जस्टिस बनाया जाना ?

September, Chief Justices were appointed to eight High Courts across India. 

While a good move, the fact that all of them, with the exception of one, will have very short tenures is unfortunate. 

This is a persistent problem that calls for urgent remedial action since it affects the institutional effectiveness of the judiciary.

Short tenures

कुछ उदाहरण देखते हैं 

Justice Rajiv Shakdher just in 24 days

In fact, one Chief Justice has already completed his tenure. Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who was Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, retired after just 24 days, on October 18. 

Justice Manmohan

who had been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, was sworn in as Chief Justice on September 29. 

On December 3, the Union government announced the appointment of Chief Justice Manmohan as a judge of the Supreme Court. 

Justice Tashi Rabstan 

will serve a tenure of about six months as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. 

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait

 who was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has a tenure of about eight months. 

Justice K.R. Shriram

 appointed as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, will serve a one-year tenure. 

Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji, the Chief Justice of the Meghalaya High Court, will also be retiring around the same time as Justice Shriram. Justice Nitin Madhukar Jamdar, Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court, has a tenure of about 15 months. 

Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao 4 yrs 

The only judge who is will serve a relatively long tenure of about four years is Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao, who has been appointed as Chief Justice in Jharkhand.

कितना महत्व है ?

The Chief Justice of a High Court 

He plays a pivotal role in sustaining the all-round health of the institution. 

The Chief Justice administers the institution, tracks its financial health, plays an important role in 

• recommending names for judgeship, 
• constitutes various committees to administer the institution, 
• attends to the welfare of the staff of the High Court, 
• takes disciplinary action against erring trial court judges and staff when warranted, 
• arranges for defence of such action before appropriate authorities when questioned, 
• responds to innumerable mundane administrative requests, 
• accepts invitations and participates in various symposia, seminars, and functions that are not necessarily restricted to law, 
• participates in functions organised by the Bar Councils and various advocate associations across the State, and 
• addresses problems related to legal education in the State apart from, of course, 
• discharging the function as the top judicial authority of the State.

.

A lot has been said about the short tenure of Chief Justices

 During his farewell speech in 2022, Supreme Court judge Justice L. Nageswara Rao said those elevated as judges to the top court must get a “minimum seven to eight years” in office “if not 10 years”.

 He said, “It takes them (Chief Justices) 1.5 to two years to understand how the Court functions here because it is completely different from the High Courts.” He added that by the time they settle down, “they are looking at their retirement”.

 Several Chief Justices who have retired after brief tenures have voiced similar sentiments.

A lesson from the British

अंग्रेजों के समय में लंबा समय दिया जाता था 

It was not so during British rule. Back then, it was a norm for Chief Justices to have long tenures. The Madras High Court came into existence in 1862. 

When it completed 150 years in 2012, it had completed 85 years as a Court in British India and 65 years as a Court in independent India. 

The first Chief Justice was Sir Colley Harman Scotland. In 1947, when it had completed 85 years, the Madras High Court had had just 11 Chief Justices. Each of them had enjoyed an average tenure of a little less than eight years. 

During the Madras High Court’s 150th year celebrations, Justice M.Y. Iqbal was the 35th Chief Justice. 

So, in 65 years, the Court had had 24 Chief Justices, which means the average tenure of those judges was hardly 2.75 years. 

The average term reduces further when we deduct the tenures of Chief Justice P.V. Rajamannar, who served a term of 13 years, and Chief Justice Veeraswami K., who had a tenure of about seven years. 

This means that there were 22 Chief Justices in 45 years, which brings down the average term of each to merely more than over two years.

While the tasks of Chief Justices are only increasing and becoming more complicated, the duration given to them to address these are becoming shorter and shorter. When the system provides such little time for the incumbents to even understand the system, what scope is there for innovation, reform, and improvement?

The attempt here is not to provide prescriptions to the malady. It is to emphasise that the problem needs to be addressed. 

It can only be resolved by a joint deliberation of stakeholders, including the Bar. It is important that they evolve a solution before the problem seriously affects the system.

Source the hindu