GUWAHATI, Oct 28 - Supreme Court Judge Justice Ranjan Gogoi today expressed concern at the backlog of cases plaguing the judicial system and said that �true judges� are difficult to find �even in heaven�.
Interacting with the audience after delivering the KN Saikia Memorial Lecture here, Justice Gogoi said that to deal with the problem, �undoubtedly� the number of judges would have to be increased.
�But the question is not about quantity, it�s about quality. Who are you making judges? A true judge is not even found in heaven. A judge has to have no ambition... no career
prospects. He must be of impeccable character and a man of highest integrity. He will have to work 30 hours in a day and not just 24. Where do I get such a man? The society has not been able to give us such a commodity,� Justice Gogoi rued.
He said judicial values are different administrative values.
�A judge has to hear two sides and give reasons for his judgement and these judgements will remain for posterity,� he said, favouring a healthy debate on whether judges and lawyers should be set a time-frame for disposing of cases.
Referring to a number of judgements and rulings of the Supreme Court, Justice Gogoi said the role of the apex court has evolved over the years and it is not merely a place for dispute resolution.
�The court has very cautiously revisited laws made by the legislature wherever the circumstances have been unusual and has intervened when there has been inaction on the part of the legislature or executive. These interpretations have transformed the Constitution and has made it ready for the times,� he said, delivering the lecture on the topic �The Constitution through the judgements of the Honorable Supreme Court of India�.
He said the court has gone �an extra mile� to ensure that justice is done and is in sync with the basic tenets of the Constitution.
Recalling some cases like Vineet Narain v. Union of India in 1997 and the Karnataka mining case, Justice Gogoi said the court has generated judicial innovations to which the posterity can confidently resort to.
The lecture was organised as part of the first foundation celebrations of the North East Institute of Advanced Studies.
