If the king (sovereign) is below God and the law, the judges and the depositories of the judicial power of the sovereign are not above God and law

Hon’ble Mr. Justice Dipankar Datta,
Chief justice,
High Court of Judicature at Bombay.

May it please your Lordship,

I logged in to the Chief Justice’s Court even before 11 am this morning and sat all throughout, waiting to be admitted, inspite of the unbearable pain due to slipped disc. I send a screenshot via whatsapp to Shri Chandwani, Prothonotory, and Shri Nikumb, your lordship’s associate, pointing out that I have not been admitted and requesting them to admit me, since my case, Sr. No. 29, a petition instituted by a designated covid hospital seeking immediate oxygen supply. I do not wish to attribute any motives to anybody, however, I am afraid to say my experience all throughout has been that when it comes to deficiency of administration, the court’s fair no better than the other departments of the State. The only difference is that when the deficiency in service it at the hands of other departments of the State, the person aggrieved could approach the courts, but when the injustice arise out of the judicial department, there is no mechanism for redressal. Many fearing the displeasure of the judges do not venture to point out injustice, but suffer in silence.

We follow a jurisprudence which has its foundations in Roman law, where it is said ‘ab alios acta altori quod faceris’, namely, that a judge is accountable to God. But your Lordship will appreciate that, as early as in the 13th century, Bracton asserted that, “the king is below no man, but he is below God and the law; law makes the king; the king is bound to obey the law, though if he breaks it, his punishment must be left to God” (de legibus angliae).

I am sure your Lordship will be gracious enough not to take this letter as an offense, but that which was written with a sense of pain, and take the immediate corrective steps, for what is at stake is the cause of justice.

With most respectful regards,

Yours Sincerely,

Adv. Mathews J Nedumpara