While addressing an audience at his felicitation by the Supreme Court Bar Association on Monday, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud emphasized the importance of the need for exhaustive reforms at the district judiciary level. He spoke about the qualms faced by many women judges where they do not have access to washrooms and that they leave their homes at 8am and are only able to get access to facilities when they return at 6pm. He said, “For some, the washrooms are away from the courtroom so when the judge has to go to the washroom, she has to pass by the undertrials who are sitting, which is very embarrassing for a judge. We have to change the face of the district judiciary first and foremost.”
He also condemned the hierarchy and culture of subordination among judges, “District judges are not subordinate, they are just district judges. There have been instances when district judges stand up when High Court judges eat food, or even serve. This shows our colonial mindset.” He made it a point to mention that the way the district judiciary is perceived needs to be altered and the fact that there is an unofficial system where judges there stand in a row and bow, needs to be changed.
CJI Chandrachud went on to add that the district judiciary is the foundation of the judicial system and they must instill a sense of self-worth in them.