"Perhaps the time has come for the judges to judge themselves....."

Says the Honourable Senior Judge of the Karnataka High Court, JUSTICE MICHAEL FRANCIS SALDANHA, in a candid interview given to Richie Lasrado, exclusively for daijiworld.com

The Judiciary has often been accused of "Judicial Activism".

The Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary are the three pillars of our democracy. It is wrong to say that the Judiciary interferes in the work of the other two areas. The Constitution has given the powers of judicial review to the Judiciary, and when asked, the Judiciary is Constitutionally bound to exercise its duty. The action or non-action in the other two fields results in the process of judicial review, which may involve striking down an action, decision or even a law, or issuance of corrective directions.

What judicial reforms do you suggest for India?

What we need in India is the electoral reform to begin with. The whole election process has to be revamped to ensure that the wrong persons are not elected. Even the Supreme Court has asked the union government twice to strictly ensure that persons with criminal records are barred from contesting. That has not been done. To some extent, the Judiciary too has failed the people. For example, take the case of dowry deaths. The percentage of dowry deaths in Karnataka is the highest in the country. That in Bangalore is the highest for any state capital. But the percentage of conviction is a mere 1.6%. Perhaps, the law-breakers are being provided with an escape route. Laws will have to be interpreted and enforced more effectively; speed, honesty and transparency in the system will have to be ensured.

The common man often encounters the problem of "The Contempt of Court", "Contempt of the Judiciary" or "The Contempt of the Legislature". But nobody talks of the "The Contempt of the Common Man" or "The Contempt of the Human Being".

Perhaps the time has come for the judges to judge themselves. Same is the case with the legislature. Both judiciary and legislature should exercise restraint in seeing that the common man's interests are not tampered with and that contempt powers do not act as a muzzle.

What do you say about the falling values and value system in the country?

The best way is to improve the percentage of literacy, or rather that of education. Literacy and education are two different things. For example, the literacy in the Parliament is 17%. Unless such a situation changes, values won't improve.

What is your opinion about the much-debated Uniform Civil Code?

It is true that the same law applies to everyone in a democracy. The idea of a Uniform Civil Code is a paradox. In a country of contrasts and diversities, a certain aspect may be opposed by the Christians and another may be unfavourable to the Muslims. How are you ever going to enforce it, as it will be impossible to ever get such a law passed?

With so many scams and cases of corruption coming up regularly, what are the safeguards that can be taken?

As I said, the electoral reforms could be the first step in the right direction. If the right people get elected, values in the political system will certainly improve. We need an independent investigative machinery and a total overhaul of the selection process of t