Justice Surya Kant
NEW DELHI: Two days prior to taking oath as the 53rd Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant on Saturday said he does not get pressured by social media trolls, many of whom attempt to misrepresent, misquote or selectively extract court observations to create a negative impression about the judiciary despite having little knowledge of law.In an informal interaction with the media, Justice Kant said, “I have never been pressured by the campaigns and motivated reporting on social media. I think an overwhelming majority of judges would not be affected by social media trolls as they decide cases based on facts and law.”Outlining his priorities, the CJI-designate said that in his tenure of one year and three months, he would focus on chalking out a strategy, in consultation with stakeholders, to reduce the pendency of 90,000 cases in SC and around 5 crore cases in HCs and district courts. The listing of long-pending bunch cases, whether before 9-Judge, 7-Judge or 5-Judge constitution benches, would get priority as thousands of cases, raising the same or similar questions of law, are pending in various HCs, which have deferred hearing them in anticipation of SC verdicts, he said. One such matter pending adjudication by a 9-Judge bench is the entry of women into Sabarimala temple, mosque and other custom-related religious issues. He said it is a matter of concern that despite SC judges disposing of almost as many cases as are filed every year, the pendency is increasing. Judges cannot be overburdened, whether in SC, HCs or trial courts, he said, adding that some innovative measure must be devised to tackle pendency.Mediation, he said, would be a game-changer in the future and reduce pendency in courts. It is receiving an encouraging response from public sector banks and insurance companies, which are asking the judiciary to train their personnel in mediation to resolve disputes at the pre-litigation stage. “To use mediation to the fullest extent will be the focal point during my tenure as it is litigant-friendly and cost-effective,” he said.
