Being a judge is like walking on razor edge: CJI Sanjiv Khanna

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Justice Sanjiv Khanna said on Tuesday that the role of a judge is often likened to walking on a razor’s edge. He opined that every judgement delivered requires balancing competing rights and obligations and has to be a Zero-sum game, NDTV reported.

He said that judgments inevitably create winners and losers, inviting celebration from some and criticism from others. It is this duality that invites scrutiny into the functioning of the courts, the CJI said.

Speaking on the occasion of the 75th Constitution Day, the CJI said that the role of the judiciary is directly linked to democracy and that it has been made possible only by the Constitution. He called the Constitution a living, breathing document.

He said that for some, the Constitutional Courts of India are among the most powerful in the world, but for others, judges are straying from our constitutional duties-sometimes by failing to challenge the status quo or resisting the transient popular mandate of the electorate.

According to him, the Constitution protects the judiciary from shifts in the electoral process and ensures that decisions are fair and free from whims.

NDTV quoted him, "As the custodian of fundamental rights, the judiciary is working from the lowest level to the highest level. We are bound by our constitutional duty. At the same time, we are also open and transparent. With this, our focus is public interest and the protection of their rights. We are also accountable to the public. We are also aware of our autonomy and accountability.”

Justice Khanna also said that while the administration of justice is the firmest pillar of governance, each branch of the government is a related actor which works in a degree of separateness.