After assuming office, judges must evolve, rise above their prejudices: Retired Justice S Muralidhar

Judges after assuming office must evolve, shed their prejudices and conduct themselves in the most ethical manner possible, former Orissa High Court Chief Justice S Muralidhar said on Saturday.The retired judge further said that even though there are no guidelines in India mandating how a judge must conduct herself, judges should ensure accountability and transparency to uphold the citizens’ faith in the judiciary.“Once somebody assumes the office of a judge, they are expected to transform themselves, get over their prejudices. Not overnight but, gradually they must evolve and rise above all their prejudices,” Justice Muralidhar said.Justice Muralidhar was speaking on the topic ‘Judicial Accountability- ensuring transparency and integrity of judiciary’ at an event organised by the Chennai district committee of the All India Lawyers’ Union..Justice Muralidhar also said that while the United States Supreme Court, following a scandal involving one of its assistant judges, had issued a code of ethics prescribing how judges there should conduct themselves to maintain the integrity of their office, all that India had to fall back upon, was 'The Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct.'.“Why I mentioned this is because we in India, inherently look at the west for judicial standards since we have an inherited Constitution. We, in India have grappled with these issues (expected conduct of judges) for quite some time. Our own experience over the last 75 years shows there are many problems in expecting judges to self- regulate— not just in the appointment of judges, but in the way the judges personally conduct themselves,” Justice Muralidhar said..He went on to say that judicial academies must have “an entire capsule” on ethics in their training programmes for judicial officers.“Judges have to be conscious of how their staff works, numbering etc. These all come from practice. There should be vigilance also. We should know what happens in the roster. You should be conscious of how the bar operates, how the system operates. Also, judges should not think that their judicial power is unaccountable. On the administrative side, there are incidents of favouritism, nepotism etc. Strong judges should take a stand against this and ensure judicial accountability and transparency and uphold the faith in the judiciary,” Justice Muralidhar said.