When every change of bench brings huge surprises, and causes the fortunes of the parties to swing like a pendulum, can the institution of judiciary be said to be sane? If the course of a case through judiciary zigs and zags with every bench assignment, can we say that judiciary as an institution is sane? Our higher judiciary has around 1,000 judges, mostly aged between 55 and 65, at any given point of time. Are we confident that each and every one of them since Independence has been of sound mind, as not even one has been impeached in 70 years? What mechanisms does our system have to safeguard us from judicial insanity?
Have you experienced frustration while explaining an obvious point to a judge, who just can't get it? For instance, you keep pin-pointing a self-evident document, but the judge just refuses to see the obvious! Many litigants and their advocates are familiar with this situation.
On the other side, some people are delighted when a judge misinterprets the facts in their favour despite all evidence to the contrary. Of course such things happen because of corruption among judges, and the face-value of senior counsels -- but it also happens because of the outright insanity of some judges.
Because of simple statistical probabilities and the natural aging process, some percentage of our judges become borderline-insane. A bit soft in the head. Slightly senile. Or have over-inflated egos because of all the Milord-Milord-Milord that they keep hearing all the time. It is not uncommon that a judge is visibly incapable of listening and reasoning properly. Many a judge is incapable of distinguishing between facts and opinions, and between what is relevant and what is irrelevant to the case.
Statistically speaking, the 20 per cent lowest on the Intelligence scale are giving judgments based on prejudices and thinking habits rather than logic. One out of every five judges may have a biased personality with the IQ-level of a 10th-standard-pass student.
When a person of low intelligence is constantly told that he is all-knowing and all-powerful, he loses his grip on reality and start living in a dream-world, a world of self-aggrandizement. In short, he is borderline-insane.
SINCE INDEPENDENCE, NOT A SINGLE JUDGE IN THE HIGHER JUDICIARY HAS EVER BEEN REMOVED ON ANY GROUNDS WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING BEING OF UNSOUND MIND. Our judiciary has no mechanism to weed out insane judges, even if one is clearly identified! It is assumed that the appointment mechanism is so perfect that all the bad apples are weeded out at inception, and the ones who are selected will not deteriorate with age. Unlike all other humans, judges are assumed to be proof against age-related decline in intelligence, and senility.
So where does that leave you and me? Going to judiciary is like playing Russian roulette with our precious right to Life-and-Liberty! A bit like flying on an airline where one in five pilots may be stupid enough or mad enough to willfully crash the plane... and this airline has no procedure for testing and removing such insane pilots from service.
Is 20% a very high percentage? Is 10% a better estimate? Or maybe only 5 per cent? So, is only one in 20 judges insane or senile?
Or would you venture to claim that 100 percent of our judges are mentally fit and fine? Think about that figure a bit, and tell us what your estimate is.
Krishnaraj Rao
9821588114 and 8169471229
Krish.kkphoto@gmail.com
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