The outgoing Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, CJ Amjad Sayed, voiced his concerns over the current deadlocks between the central government and the judiciary and concluded that only an independent and strong judiciary can maintain democracy.
Judiciary: Spoken by CJ Amjad Sayed during His Fairwell
This was spoken by the CJ during his speech during his farewell, organized on 13 January by the Bar.
“Only an independent and strong judiciary who is the watchdog of the Constitution of India, and is bestowed powers to uphold the Constitution, can maintain the robust democracy in our country,” he said.
He voiced his concerns about the young members of the bar, who are not firm on taking decisions to get appointed as judges.
He also emphasized, “I sincerely hope and pray that the present tension between the judiciary and the government would be a thing of the past soon. It does not give the right message to the young members of the bar, who, in many High courts are having second thoughts for giving their consent for being appointed as judges.”
He further added, “Though the Collegium system may have some flaws, as Chief Justice, my first-hand experience is that it is the Chief Justice along with the other members of the collegium judges, who also consult the other sitting judges, the Advocate General and other members of the Bar, and who have an opportunity to see the performance of the advocates in the court are still the best judge for making recommendations for appointment of judges in the Higher Judiciary.”
He highlighted the importance of the judges in this matter and considered them as the first advocates. He also gave them a common base, imparting equal importance on each of their roles, stating that the judges and advocates are the two sides of the same coin, and therefore he said that both will need to ‘speak in one voice.’
With this, he referred to the existing system of the judiciary, stating that our system is comprised of very efficient and enlightened judges. He stressed the need for consistent support from the bar members to them, which would be the best beacon of hope for the people.
Considering the Court of Himachal Pradesh, Chief Justice Amjad Sayed asked the judicial services serving the district judiciary of Himachal Pradesh, to continue with their service, by doing the appropriate duties to get the support of the people of the country.
CJ Sayed said, “To the young members of the Bar, I only want to say that you are the future leader of the Bar and of our Legal system of administering justice. Please continue the good work. There is no substitute for hard work. Success is bound to follow you.”
