https://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/6527289.cms
Judges join Facebook to catch up with family
10 Sep, 2010 0131hrs IST TNN[ Hetal Vyas ]
MUMBAI: It is said that when a judge accepts judgeship, he or she accepts voluntary vanvaas, almost a life of isolation. He or she cannot actively engage in social activities or interact freely in the public domain.
Judges, like Caesar’s wife, must be above reproach, and are required to lead, by example, exemplary lives to be able to deliver advice, opinion and judgment. A general code of conduct also prohibits them from interacting with the media.
Flying in the face of these norms, however, a few judges of the Bombay high court and city civil and sessions courts have recently opened Facebook accounts. Justice Anand Nirgude, currently presiding over the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court, put up his profile on Facebook recently; as did additional sessions judge Ashwinikumar Deore, whose profile even mentions his profession and services in various fields of the judiciary.
Two other judges, elevated to the Bombay high court in early 2009, have also signed up on the popular social networking site, though they use technical assistance to maintain privacy-personalized settings to keep their distance from strangers while interacting with family and close friends.
Incidentally, the issue of whether judges should use Facebook and befriend lawyers, for instance, is already an issue in countries like the US.
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