Judges should not live in isolation: Parrikar

Judges should not live in isolation, because then they will not know what is happening in society and will have to rely on the media for information, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said Thrusday.

Parrikar was addressing a gathering on the occasion of Teachers' Day in the state capital when he made these remarks.

"By being isolated, a judge would not know what is happening in society. He reads it through the eyes of the media," Parrikar said, claiming that what media reports has to be vetted through one's own knowledge of society.

Parrikar's comments come at a time when he has openly criticised the Supreme Court on numerous occasions for not hearing Goa's illegal mining case at regular intervals. The chief minister has repeatedly said that the ruling to ban mining in the state has put the state economy under tremendous strain.

The Supreme Court banned mining in Goa in October last year, following a petition by a local green NGO and noted Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan.

Parrikar also blamed the justice system imposed by the British colonial government for the judicial protocol followed even today.

"I still cannot understand the concept of 'not before me'. Except for close relations, just because he is your close friend, that you should not hear a case... I do not agree," Parrikar said.

"Not before me" is an oft-quoted phrase in judicial parlance when a judicial officer refuses to hear a case for personal reasons, citing familiarity with one of parties involved.