CJI “captain of the ship”, must be around for longer: Khurshid

NEW DELHI, Apr 22: Former Law Minister Salman Khurshid today suggested an extended tenure for the Chief Justices of India “as the captain of the ship has to be around for longer”.

Present at the event where Khurshid broached the idea, the incumbent CJI J S Khehar quipped: “My short answer to this question is that I am going to retire soon.”

Both of them were attending the inaugural session of the two-day ‘Engaging Asia Arbitration Summit’ here.

After CJI had addressed the gathering, Khurshid, also a senior advocate, expressed his concern over the short tenure of judges in India.

“Judges are retiring all the time. Chief Justices in India are there for a very short period. I don’t know if we will be able to find a solution to this now or in future. But the captain of the ship has to be around for longer,” he said.

Khurshid also referred to constraints within which a judge has to function.

“There are constraints within which a judge has to operate, particularly in our country where there are constraints not only with requirement to law but but heavy load of work that the system has to respond to,” he said.

The two-day seminar, which kicked off today, would discuss the potential of arbitration in Asia. (PTI)