![\"SG](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130739599,imgsize-559294,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/solicitor-general-of-india-tushar-mehta.jpg\" "\\"<p>Solicitor")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSolicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta.<\/p>\n
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NEW DELHI: Extraordinary courtroom reverence shown worldwide by lawyers to judges has afflicted some judges with a false sense of divinity, turning a few \u2018My Lords\u2019 into bullies, senior advocate and solicitor general Tushar Mehta says in his upcoming book \u2014 a take that avoids contempt but may still raise sensitive hackles on the bench.Mehta has compiled incidents from foreign courtrooms to illustrate his \u201cbullies on the bench\u201d theme that could hold a mirror to Indian judiciary. In \u2018The Bench, the Bar and the Bizarre\u2019, he writes, \u201cJudicial bullying takes many forms. Some judges interrupt counsel incessantly, while others cross the line from firmness to humiliation\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He says though the judicial system is primarily meant for litigants, they can\u2019t demand safeguarding of their constitutional and statutory rights, but plead through their counsel with \u201cHis Lordship\u2019s kind permission\u201d. \u201cEven a patent legal absurdity coming from the bench is met first (by lawyers) with \u2018We bow down to Your Lordship\u2019, before the advocate dares to \u2018take the liberty\u2019 of offering an \u2018alternative proposition for His Lordship\u2019s kind consideration\u2019,\u201d he says.Sarcastic in tone, the book is arguably a courageous take, that too by a serving law officer, on the widely shared lament in the bar about condescending judges on the bench weaponising their exalted status and power asymmetry. Mehta, whose nearly eight year tenure as SG \u2014 beginning 2018 \u2014 is the second longest after legendary CK Daphtary\u2019s 13-year tenure as first SG, says the judiciary is the most respected branch of the State.\u201cThat respect may be extracted through the blunt instrument of contempt powers, or it may be sustained by commanding the genuine confidence of stakeholders, confidence born of fairness, neutrality and civility in the treatment of litigants and lawyers,\u201d he says.He also says judges across countries have always frowned at and struck down any external oversight of their work or a mechanism to hear complaints against them, seen as \u201cintrusion into independence of judiciary\u201d.TOI has an exclusive copy of the book that wanders into jurisdictions across the world to meticulously choose many interesting and incisive examples from courtroom dramas.Mehta also acknowledges the problems judges face. \u201cIn almost all jurisdictions, courtrooms are overcrowded and congested spaces that provide anything but a pleasant working environment. Judges labour under crushing caseloads with minimal infrastructure and scarce institutional support. Their resources are often wholly disproportionate to the volume and complexity of matters they are expected to decide,\u201d he says.Remunerations of judges, especially at the trial level, is modest and frequently fails to keep pace with inflation. \u201cAdded to this are the daily provocations of unreasonable litigants and irritating lawyers, who can test even the most disciplined judicial temperament,\u201d Mehta writes.But while showing empathy, Mehta says the difficulties facing them cannot be an alibi for judges to be uncivil in courtrooms. Judges are sourced from the very system, its pressures, imperfections and provocations, he says.Mehta says the public rightly expects highest standards of conduct from judges, as they can remove an arrogant or errant politician by voting them out but not an arrogant or errant judge. On the line of Arun Jaitley\u2019s pet dialogue to describe unreasonable arrogant judges as \u201ctyranny of the unelected\u201d, Mehta writes, \u201cHe or she is neither directly accountable nor answerable to the people. Any deviation from the ideal judicial composure risks eroding the very faith that sustains the institution of judiciary.\u201dReferring to the huge power imbalance inside a courtroom, the SG says, \u201cWhen a judge becomes arrogant, abusive, interruptive or intolerant during arguments, it is not a contest between equals. The lawyer\u2019s options are few and unpalatable. To reciprocate in kind is to risk one\u2019s client\u2019s interests and one\u2019s own professional survival\u2026 It is usually left to a brave litigant, rather than counsel, to draw the attention of the higher body to such judicial behaviour.\u201d<\/div>\n![\"Bullies](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/photo\/msid-130739601\/bullies-on-the-bench-sgs-book-on-foreign-courtrooms.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\nPublic rightly expects highest standards from judges: SG<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n