Chief Justice of India comtinues ....

Like my predecessors, I went round the country on inspection tours to various High Courts. Though there was not much of inspection of High Courts during these visits, I was glad to get into contact with the bench and the Bar all over the country.

I thought it a part of my ‘functions’ as Chief Justice of India to make certain suggestions about the administration of justice, particularly criminal justice, in the country. It was a confidential document submitted to the Home Ministry.

When the criminal Law Amendment Bill came up for consideration before the select committee, it was presented to the Committee on behalf of the Government, after I had ceased to hold office. I was glad to find the committee endorse some of my suggestions which were adopted by Parliament in its legislation on the subject.

With the setting up of the Supreme Court and the creation of a Supreme Court Bar, the necessity of having an all India Bar was strongly brought home to me. In the good—or bad if you would like to have it that way—old days advocates of one High Court sometimes found it difficult to appear in a case pending before another High Court. I have never been able to reconcile myself either to the distinction between solicitors and advocates or between advocates practising on the original side and those on the appellate side. The prevailing practice sometimes created amusing situations. An advocate entitled to practise before the highest court in the country, the Supreme Court, could easily be refused permission to appear in a lower court, the original side of a High Court. I was keen on the creation of an all-India Bar and
advocated its cause whenever I went on these tours. I am glad to find that though it seemed a very remote possibility when I first started advocating it, it has-now become an actuality.

To be continued...