New Delhi, April 5
Chief Justice of India Justice H.L. Dattu on Sunday sought to play down the controversy over the holding of the high court chief justices conference on Good Friday, saying it was an internal "family matter" and would be settled.

Describing as "unfortunate" the raising of the issue by Justice Kurian Joseph, Chief Justice Dattu told media persons: "I am the head of the family and our one member has questioned me. We will settle it ourselves and it should not go outside the family."

Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda was also present at the media conference.

Justice Joseph had raised objections to the Chief Justice of India holding the high court chief justices conference on Good Friday.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Justice Joseph had said: "Irrespective of the religion, Diwali, Holi, Dussehra, Eid, Bakrid, Christmas, Easter etc. are great days of festival celebrations in the neighbourhood.

"Your good self would kindly appreciate that no important programmes are held during sacred and auspicious days of Diwali, Dussehra, Holi, Eid, Bakrid etc., though we have holidays during that period as well."

"I regret my inability to attend the event as the conference coincides with the Good Friday ceremonies. Good Friday is a day of great religious significance to us, marking the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ," he had said.

Uphold constitution in letter and spirit, says CJI

Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu on Sunday urged chief justices and chief ministers in states to uphold the constitution in "letter and spirit".

"The ultimate goal of all of us is to serve the people of India upholding the letter and spirit of the constitution. Our forefathers have defined and declared our common goal within this sacred constitution," he said in his address to a joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices of the high courts here.

Terming the people's faith in the rule of law as the "greatest democratic achievement in nearly seven decades of independence", he said achieving and maintaining rule of law in society was easier said than done.

"In a country that is as socially diverse and economically disparate as ours, ensuring access to effective justice is a Herculean task. However, it is important that we consistently engage with this task and constantly re-evaluate the measures we have designed," CJI Dattu said.

On the conference, he said discussions like these are a "fine example of institutional dialogue", which is very important for the country's democracy.

"It is in the highest traditions of democratic governance that two branches of the state have come together to communicate directly with each other. In a task as complex and important as the one we are concerned with today (Sunday), it is important that we are open to suggestions, open to change and open to thinking outside the box," the CJI said.

On pending cases in various courts, he said the Supreme Court and various high courts have been taking a wide range of measures to deal with the issue, and arrears committees are being set up in every high court to develop a strategy to clear backlog of cases relevant to local context.

"Furthermore, we have been able to address long-pending matters pertaining to land acquisition, direct tax cases, criminal cases and service matters," he said.

CJI Dattu also expressed concern at young people not wanting to join judiciary thinking it was not a financially viable career option.

"If one were to simply compare the salary and perks of sitting judges in India to any other modern democracy, or even compare the same to that of fresh graduates in Indian law firms, the stark reality would be evident," he said, expressing his "great fear" that this would cause the "greatest hindrance" in attracting competent youth towards the judiciary.