The relationship between the executive and the judiciary on the administrative side should be marked by robust Constitutional statesmanship, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Friday.

But on judicial side, the confidence and faith of citizens lies in the fierce sense of judicial independence, the CJI underlined.

"The relationship between executive and the judiciary on the administrative side have to be marked with a robust constitutional statesmanship and all three organs such as as the executive, legislature and judiciary are engaged in the common task of nation building. But on judicial side, the confidence and faith of citizens lies in the fierce sense of judicial independence and the legitimacy of the judicial institution depends on the faith which we command of our citizens and that faith is determined by one factor and one factor alone whether we become the first and last choice of access for the citizens in times of distress and need," he said.

Pertinently, Constitutional statesmanship, whether it is on administrative or judicial side, requires deliberation and dialogue and not public grandstanding, he said.

The CJI was speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Gauhati High Court.

The CJI highlighted the outstanding work done by the Gauhati High Court during the emergency and added that "it is indeed in tough times that tough judges get going."

The CJI also said that when law is applied wisely and interpreted by judges who have a feel for social reality and are compassionate, then it takes a step towards realizing justice. 

However, when the law is wielded without principle it can carry the burden of arbitrariness, he said.

The CJI in his address also spoke about the importance of technology in justice dispensation.

"In 2023, upto March 7, we (judiciary) has sent 2.77 crore sms to registered mobile phone users across India. 3.84 lakh per day .. E-Taal website has recorded 326 crore transactions in 2022, 18.5 crore transactions in 2023 till March 13. We have sent 2.37 crore automated emails in 2023 upto march 13 to registered users in the justice delivery system," he said.

"These figures are unprecedented in contemporary society across India," the CJI added.

On the optimum use of technology, the CJI opined that technology has to be groomed for the Indian social context.

"Our design, thinking must be user centric and our processes in judicial system will yield results only if our structural design includes everyone," said the CJI.

The event was also attended by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.