In the past, he said, the integrity of the judiciary was taken for granted. "Today, judicial integrity is a matter of strong public expectation.
"This is the vital difference you must keep in mind. And I expect the high court judges of the future and the entire judiciary to endeavour to fulfil this expectation of the people," he said addressing a distinguished gathering which included Prime Minister Manmohan singh and former and sitting judges of the High Court and the Supreme Court.
Stressing on the need to avoid judicial overeach, Justice Kapadia said if a question with political content is posed before the court and no legal standard is available before it to decide the matter, it should be left to the executive or legislature to sort it out.
"When a question is posed before the court, the court must find out what is the content of the question. If the content is political and if the content is such where there is no legal standard available before the court to apply and decide the matter, then the doctrine of deference should be applied and it should be left to the executive or the legislature as the case may be," he said.
Kapadia, who was speaking at the closing ceremony of the year-long sesquicentennial celebrations of the Bombay High Court, also emphasized the need to maintain judicial independence. (more)
