CJI Dipak Misra break his silence after eight months Judges dissent, says 'criticising a system is easy, transforming it is not'

Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, finally facing criticism for eight months from four of the most senior judges, broke his silence. CJI made an oblique reference over the public outrage in his address on the occasion of the Independence Day. Earlier, this year the four senior judges of the top court had pointed fingers at the "administration of the Supreme Court" and flagged their concerns about the assignment of "sensitive cases to junior judges".

Speaking on it the CJI Dipak Misra said on Wednesday that criticising and destroying the system is easy but transforming it not.

To "criticize, attack and destroy a system is quite easy... what is difficult and challenging is to transform it to a performing one," Chief Justice Misra said today after unfurling the flag on the Supreme Court premises organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on the eve of Independence Day.

"Positive and concrete reforms must be undertaken with responsibility," the Chief Justice said, underscoring the need to "transcend one's personal ambitions or grievances" and making "constructive checks".

Referring to the mention of "polity of identity" in Union Law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad's speech at the event, Chief Justice Misra said, "I am happy that the law minister has talked about the identity of the citizens. This identity has to be founded on the idea of humanism which is fundamentally constitutional and legitimate. "How far we follow this path only the future will tell."

This was the first time when Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra spoke on the issue in a while. The top judges' public outrage had shaken the nation by bringing out a shocking rift within the judiciary in January.