It immensely pains me that as an Advocate and Officer of the Court, I have to pen these few lines. But all along, I have never ever fretted or dithered from candidly expressing my thoughts and will continue to do so till my very last breath.
The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court Pradeep Nandrajog will be meeting and addressing the Advocates of Goa on 10th October at the plush 5 Star Hotel Double Tree by Hilton on the Kadamba Plateau. It is good that the our very distinguished Chief Justice is meeting the Advocates but it would have been appropriate if this much needed interaction was held within the precincts and sanctity of the High Court premises at Althinho.
For that interaction scheduled on 10th October Advocates have to cough up Rs 2500 as it also includes a dinner. This again is contrary to an earlier resolution rightly taken by the Goa High Court Bar Association on account of which no dinner was hosted for the then Chief Justice of our High Court Mohit Shah.
It is so appalling and very distressing that despite there being a very clear and categorical diktat by the Supreme Court that Judges should not socialize with Advocates, that there seems to be no rigorous compliance of this very salutary prescription.
Official tea parties within the High Court premises could be okay. But highly spirited dinner parties, hosted at starred hotels, are another story: a potential avenue for Advocates to creep and cultivate convenient relations with Judges. It can also lead to funny, embarrassing and demeaning situations at times. The contact between Advocates and Judges should be very strictly restricted to the Court room. This would go a long way in ensuring a truly Independent, much needed unbiased, free and fair Judiciary. Over to you, Your Lordship our dear Chief Justice.
