Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on Sunday said the independence of judiciary depends on the freedom of each and every individual judge to function in office without the pulls of political pressure, social compulsions, and inherent bias.
The Chief Justice of India was heading a Ceremonial Bench with apex court judges and the Chief Justices of 25 High Courts across the country to commemorate the first sitting of the Supreme Court on January 28, 1950. The Supreme Court is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee year.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said a lot has changed down the years, since the time of India’s first Chief Justice Harilal J. Kania. Chief Justice Chandrachud recounted Chief Justice Kania’s speech at the maiden sitting of the Supreme Court on January 28, 1950. Chief Justice Kania had extolled judges to hold true to three principles which would form the foundation of the institution of the Supreme Court - independence of judiciary, the interpretation of the Constitution not as a rigid body of rules but as a living organism, and the need to secure and retain the respect of citizens for the Supreme Court as a legitimate institution.
