Social media tells judges which case will come up before them even before they look at the file: Justice DY Chandrachud

Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud said that the impact of social media has been such that even the judges and judiciary have not remained untouched by the same..He stressed on the reality that even before judges look at a case, social media tells them what is going to come up before them."You’re told about what is going to appear before you, or what’s going to be argued before you, even before the argument. That’s the social reality."However, he maintained that care and circumspection must be exercised when attempting to regulate social media, since it represents the power of freedom of speech and expression.Justice Chandrachud was speaking at the London School of Economics (LSE) on the topic, 'Experiences with Adjudication: Reconciling Rights, Identities & Prejudices'. Pertinently, he said that though judges decide cases on the basis of facts, evidence and arguments, especially in contested social and political topics, it is important for judges to have knowledge of a multiplicity of opinions."Speaking for myself as a judge, there is a distinction between facts and opinions if facts as they are depicted in the media are important, are valuable aids and tools for judges to understand social reality because judges very often by the nature of their profession must be very insularised, isolated."He was of the opinion with judicial training, judges could learn to exclude the cacophony of voices constantly pounding in their brains."The key challenge is how do you dissociate what you hear, and how do you balance that with your duty to decide only on the basis of the record before you. I think that’s a matter of judicial training," he said..While responding to a question regarding inclusion and diversity in the Indian judiciary, Justice Chandrachud also discussed the need to democratise the legal profession, so as to allow greater access and opportunity, instead of relying on the informal networks on which it is currently based..The Supreme Court judge opined that the issue was not about just appointing more women judges. Rather, the disparity in the legal profession at different levels - starting from entering law schools, to Senior Advocate designations and appointments to the district judiciary - needs to be addressed."How do we ensure that first and foremost, we have more women entering legal education, second once they do how do we ensure that the structure of the legal profession changes?".He discussed how the legal profession, as it stood today, was notoriously based on informal networks. "So, if you want to access a chamber, you access it on the basis of an informal network. If you have to access clients, clients are referred on the basis of friendships. That, I believe, has to change.".The judge also cited this as a reason why young lawyers are more drawn towards transactional work at law firms."The reason why transactional work is so popular among young lawyers, is because there is a perception that there is a greater emphasis on individual merit or capabilities in the recruitment of young lawyers into transactional firms.That perception of the mainstream, as I like to call it, for the legal system has to change. We need to make our process more democratic so as to allow greater access and greater opportunity to different segments of society.".He also revealed that there was an emphasis on promoting diversity when the High Court or the Supreme Court Collegiums were deliberating."The idea is not just to appoint people from diverse backgrounds merely to promote a representation of different groups, but there is some intrinsic importance in terms of diversity of the views which people from diverse backgrounds bring to the table," he said explaining the need for such emphasis..The event began with opening remarks from Professor Alnoor Bhimani, Director of the LSE South Asia Centre. This was followed by the keynote lecture by Justice DY Chandrachud. Advocate Tanvi Dubey shared her reflections and concluding remarks were provided by Dr Nilanjan Sarkar, Deputy Director of the LSE South Asia Centre.The event was a collaborative effort between the LSE, and the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU), UK and was moderated by the NISAU's chairperson Sanam Arora..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.