The Indian judiciary still has a prevalent feudal mindset that needs to shift towards a more “modern and futuristic” approach, Supreme Court judge Justice DY Chandrachud said on Sunday, Live Law reported.

“These feudal practices are evident in the element of subordination which we practise among the judges of the district judiciary,” he added. He was speaking at the National Conference on Mediation and Information Technology, organised by the High Court of Gujarat.

Chandrachud cited examples of how district judiciary judges are not allowed to sit when they talk to High Court or Supreme Court judges. He also said that they are made to wait when to a judge from a higher court is coming into the district.

Chandrachud noted that a shift to a modern judiciary can happen with a change in mindset. “I do believe that technology provides us with a very powerful means of changing feudal practices within the Indian judiciary,” he said, according to Live Law.

The Supreme Court judge noted that the inspection of districts should be done using electronic registers. Currently, this process causes a lot of stress to the district judiciary, he said.

Chandrachud opined that technology is full of untapped potential and can be used objectively for those who are under consideration for the higher judicial office.

Last year, Chandrachud had pushed for live streaming of hearings saying that “everyone in the country has a right to know what goes inside a courtroom”. He added that he has written to the Chief Justices of all High Courts to request that cases must be e-filed in the district and high courts by January 2022.