Kochi, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday called for introspection on whether there is room to improve the responsiveness of the judicial process in view of the growing tendency among litigants to move the Supreme Court for urgent listing or early hearing of matters pending before the High Courts.
“Equally important is their power to grant timely interim protection. Referring to the Kerala High Court’s seven decade long history, Justice Kant said that the High Court and the state of Keralam were both formed in 1956 and their journey during the last 70 years was closely intertwined with each other.
CJI Kant said that the apex court has as consistently respected the institutional autonomy of High Courts, including their authority to regulate their own rosters, but the frequency of such requests invites us to consider whether there is room to improve the responsiveness of our processes. “And can we ensure that a litigant’s access to timely justice does not depend upon their ability to travel to the national capital?” were queries he posed during his inaugural address on the occasion of the platinum jubilee anniversary celebrations of the Kerala High Court here. Sometimes, the difference between justice and injustice lies not in the final judgment, but in whether the court intervenes when intervention is most needed,” the CJI said in his address. He said that the court played a vital role in the state’s constitutional development. “From the early courts of Travancore and Cochin, to the establishment of the Travancore High Court in 1887 and the Travancore-Cochin High Court in 1949, each successive institution contributed to the foundations upon which the present Court was built,” Justice Kant said. He said that the progressive spirit of the High Court was evident in its constitutional jurisprudence.
