‘Supreme Court Is Chief Justice-Centric, It Needs To Change': Retiring Judge In Farewell Speech

News18

23-05-2025

Last Updated:
Justice AS Oka, who addressed his farewell event at the Supreme Court, called for the reduction in "manual intervention" to the listing of cases.
Retiring Supreme Court judge, Justice AS Oka, said on Friday that the apex court is presently a Chief Justice-centric court, which needs to change.
Justice Oka, who is set to demit office tomorrow and was speaking on his last working day at his farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), called for the use of artificial intelligence in 'rational listing" of cases. He advocated for a reduction in the 'manual intervention" in the listing of cases.
'The Supreme Court is a chief justice-centric court, and it needs to change. Supreme Court has about 34 judges from different parts of the country, and that should be reflected," he said, Bar and Bench reported.
'People complain any cases are listed on the next day, and why cases are pending after so many days. We cannot have a better listing unless we reduce manual intervention to a minimum. Use of AI can help in rational listing," Justice Oka added.
At present, the Chief Justice of India is responsible for allocating cases to different benches. This practice has often faced criticism, as cases are sometimes listed only before specific benches.
'We can't improve the listing system unless we minimize manual involvement. The use of AI can help in rational listing," Justice Oka said.
He also said that a Supreme Court judge has to always think about the common man.
'Sitting in Supreme Court, we cannot think of onlythe Supreme Court. We need to think of the common man. CJI (Sanjiv) Khanna brought in transparency in the system," he said.
The retiring judge said that as a judge one should not hesitate to offend anyone.
'It was my honest endeavour to do that. In that honest endeavour, I may have offended two lawyers. But always I believe that a judge has to be very firm, strict, and that a judge should not hesitate to offend anyone," he said.
He also recalled how a former top court judge once told him that one does not become a judge to become popular but to uphold the principles in the Constitution.
'A great judge to adorn the dias here advised me – 'you are not becoming a judge to become popular'. I followed that advice to the hilt. I was harsh only for one reason – I wanted to uphold the principles laid down by the Constitution," he said.
First Published:
May 23, 2025, 21:01 IST