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| Independence of the Judiciary has two facets – extrinsic and intrinsic or the outside and the inside |
(Speech delivered by the retired Supreme Court Judge C.W.Wikneswaran)
I have been called upon to speak
today on your event-theme “Independence of the
Judiciary” …What is Independence
of the Judiciary? Why is it important? Are these not pertinent questions to
answer? Let me briefly define this much maligned phrase in my own way. Independence
of the Judiciary means simply that the Judiciary needs to be kept aloof as far
as possible from the other branches of Government and other interest groups. In
other words, Courts should not be subject to improper influence be it from
other branches of the Government, that is the Legislature as well as the
Executive, or from private or partisan interests.
