Judges must exercise their immense power with humility and responsibility, says CJI Gavai

Flagging misconduct by some judges, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai said on Saturday (September 20, 2025) that judges and judicial officers must exercise their power with utmost humility and responsibility.

The Chief Justice was speaking at the 10th All India Conference of the Central Administrative Tribunal here.

Citing a recent news report on a High Court judge reprimanding a young lawyer in court, the Chief Justice said judges must accept that they as well as the lawyers are like “two wheels of the golden chariot of justice”. No one is superior or inferior. “I won’t name the judge nor the High Court… but because of one judge, a young lawyer was so browbeaten that he became unconscious in the court….. Unless both judges and lawyers work together, the institution of administration of justice that exists for the citizens of the country cannot function properly,” he said. Senior lawyers too were ill-treated by some judges, judicial officers and quasi-judicial officers, the Chief Justice said.

He said there is discontent in the Bar owing to the conduct of some judges. Judicial officers, be judges or members of tribunals, wield immense power, which they should carry with utmost humility and responsibility, the Chief Justice said.

Speaking on the tribunals, he pointed out that despite commendable disposal rates, pendency in administrative tribunals remains a significant concern, as it is so even with the courts. Another persistent problem in this regard is the multiplicity of appeals that arise from the tribunals’ decisions, he said.

‘Time to introspect’

The Chief Justice also pointed out how non-judicial members in tribunals avoid passing judgments against the government, and urged them to reflect on it. “….nowadays you don’t know what you say and what comes in the social media but as a judge, I have personally noticed that some of the judges coming from the administration, they do not forget that they are from administration, and they avoid passing any order that would be against the government,” he said.

Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, who was present at the conference, said such events, with their in-depth discussions on digitisation of judicial processes, innovations in administrative justice system, and on ensuring transparent and accessible justice, were a significant step towards reforms in the sector.

Others who attended the conference were Minister of State (Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions) Jitendra Singh, Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, and several judges and lawyers from the Supreme Court, High Courts, State Administrative Tribunals, and the GST Tribunal.