Will strive to have one Constitution Bench functioning throughout year, says CJI-designate UU Lalit

New Delhi [India], August 26 : Chief Justice of India (CJI) designate Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on Friday listed priorities for his tenure and said he will strive to have at least one Constitution Bench functioning throughout the year, make the listing of cases as simple, clear and transparent as possible and there will be a clear-cut regime where any urgent matters can be freely mentioned before respective courts.
Speaking at the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) farewell event for outgoing CJI NV Ramana, CJI-designate referred to the "popularity" and achievements of his predecessor.
Justice Lalit said he has always believed that the role of the Supreme Court is to lay down law with clarity and consistency.
"Let me place some parts I intend to do in my next innings of 74 days - three areas: I had a word with office of SCBA and SCORA earlier in the day. One and this is where we need to take cue from CJI Ramana and carry forward. One area is listing and I must assure you that we will strive hard to make the listing as simple, as clear, and as transparent as possible," he said.
"Number two: The area which is mentioned as an urgent matter, I will certainly look into. I will have to work with all my colleagues at the bench and will certainly seek that out and very shortly you will have a clear regime where any urgent matters can freely be mentioned before respective courts," he added.
The CJI designate said the third area is of listing of matters before the Constitution benches and matters which are especially referred to as benches of three judges.
"I have always believed that the role of the Supreme Court is to lay down law with clarity, and consistency and the best way to do it is to have larger benches as early as possible where the matter is registered to such benches so that issues get clarified immediately, the matter has consistency and people are well aware of what are contours of peculiar positions of law. We will strive hard to always have at least one Constitution Bench functioning all throughout the year," he added.
Referring to the outgoing CJI Ramana, Justice Lalit said that his achievements are well-known.
"It is a tough time for somebody like me. Look at the popularity of my predecessor. How am I going to don that mantle now! Right at the outset, even before I assume office, I express my complete inability to match and go anywhere near this popularity. It was very heartening and very emotional to see some of the speeches which were given in the morning in Court No. 1 and that was the real tribute because the person who demits the office leaves that chair for the last time."
"That's the tribute which he receives while sitting there in the chair and while just about to leave that chair, that to my mind is the most fitting tribute that a person can actually receive," Justice Lalit said.
"Two achievements which really stand out, number one- on the side of appointments, more than 250 appointments of judges of the High Courts in this country. If you compare the present strength of the judges of the HCs in this country, it is 750 so almost one-third of all strength is a result of recommendations made by the collegiums in the last 14 months or so. I also said in the morning that there may be a time in future that perhaps a large number of judges of SC may have been those who were appointed in that year," he added.
Justice Lalit said the second facet he noticed was during the Chief Justices and Chief Minister's conference.
"The way Justice Ramana meticulously and very forcefully tried to persuade all CMs and chief justices to concentrate on issues concerning infrastructure in the lower judiciary, was remarkable. The results of conference are resonating now. As the Chairperson of NALSA, one of the projects we are seeking to implement is to have public defenders office or legal aid defence counsel and we are insisting that in every district there must be a legal aid defence counsel office which will be on the lines as public prosecutors office. And the issue came up, that office would require space," he added.
He said due to perseverance shown by Justice Ramana during the conference, every district the concerned states are willing to provide a minimum of 800 square feet area to have the office.