Existing constitutional safeguards not enough: CJI

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Sunday stressed that present constitutional safeguards are not in themselves sufficient to maintain the independence of the judiciary.

CJI Chandrachud explained that an independent judiciary means one that is insulated from the executive and legislative branches, while also having judges free of human bias. "The Constitution entrenches several institutional safeguards for an independent judiciary such as a fixed retirement age and a bar against the alteration of the salary of judges after their appointment. However, these constitutional safeguards are not in themselves sufficient to ensure an independent judiciary," he stated.

The CJI was speaking as part of the ceremonial bench that sat today to mark 75 years of the Supreme Court.