Yesterday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud addressed an event in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Sunday. During this he said that whether our profession will flourish or self-destruct will depend on whether we maintain our integrity or not.

''Integrity is not destroyed by a storm, it is built on the small concessions made by lawyers and judges and by their honesty'' the CJI said at an event organized on the topic 'Enhancing cooperation between lawyers and judges: directions for strengthening the legal system'. It is erased by the agreements made.

CJI said that we all sleep with our conscience. You can fool the whole world, but you cannot fool your conscience. He keeps asking questions every night. Honesty is the core of the legal profession. With honesty we will either survive or destroy ourselves.

Lawyers get respect when they respect judges and judges get respect when they respect lawyers and mutual respect happens when it is realized that both are part of the same wheel of justice.

Meanwhile, the CJI also discussed the issue of women in the judiciary. He said that gender is not just a woman's issue, but it is equally a man's issue. He said that I believe that an important challenge facing the Indian legal profession is to create an equal opportunity profession, because the structure of the legal profession today will define it 30 or 40 years from now. 

''When I am asked why we do not have sufficient number of women judges, I tell them not to look at the collegium today, because it has to choose from the talent available at the Bar. You have to see the condition of our society 20-30 years ago. The judges who are entering the higher judiciary today are members of the Bar of 20-25 years ago.'' , CJI said. 

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