The Secret, Opaque Guild Of The Men Of Law

"I am particularly pleased that today we are witnessing two simultaneous debates. The first being on the appointment of judges to the high courts or the Supreme Court and the other on the sexual harassment of women interns, lawyers and even judges by members of the highest courts of the country, composed predominantly of males. The first debate is triggered by serious allegations of corruption in the judicial system and the unrepresentative character of its appointment structure. And the second one is induced by the male chauvinism and misogyny that prevails in large sections of the judiciary. I have long believed that there is a sexualisation of corruption in the judiciary sphere, one that exists almost freely at an underground level, unmentionable and unspeakable.

So what can be posited as common in the two debates? The impunity that judges enjoy clearly foments the pernicious structure of hierarchy within, the culture of sycophancy in the legal profession and the near-dynasty that exists in the matter of judges’ appointment. One look at some judges’ predecessors will convince you that they are not only from the same class or social background, but also related with ties of blood. At one time, the Supreme Court had three sitting judges related to each other, with not a single demand to figure out how they all managed to get there at the same time. The legal profession has also bec­ome hereditary; children of lawyers becoming lawyers and the children of these lawyers’ children also bound to bec­ome lawyers. It is almost as if law was a business. But unfortunately, it is a justice-dispensing mechanism. This creates countless conflicts of interest between members of the judiciary. In India, we definitely lack a conflict of inte­rest theory when it comes to public life; we are all brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts! I have seen lawyers who, when becoming judges, bequeathed their cases to their sons who were practising in the same courts!..." (Continue reading.)