Form of words:
Cuttack: Chief Justice of India, Justice NV Ramana on Saturday said the Legislature needs to revisit the laws and reform them to suit the times and needs of the people so that they match the “practical realities”.
Inaugurating the new building of the Odisha State Legal Services Authority here, the CJI also said that the executive and the legislature need to work hand in hand to realize the “constitutional aspirations”.
I emphasize, our laws must match our practical realities. The executive will have to match these efforts by simplifying the relevant rules,” Justice Ramana said.
He also emphasized that it was important for the executive and the legislature to “work together in realizing constitutional aspirations”.
The CJI said that only then the judiciary would not be compelled to step in as a law-maker and would only be left with the duty of enforcing and interpreting the laws.
At the end of the day, it is the harmonious functioning of the three organs of the state that can remove procedural barriers to justice, he pointed out.
Stating that the Indian judicial system is facing dual challenges, the CJI said the first is the Indianisation of the justice delivery system.
Even after 74 years of independence, the traditional and agrarian societies, which are following the traditional lifestyle, “feel hesitant to approach the courts,” he said.
“The practices, procedures, language of our courts seem different to them”, he said, adding that between the complex language of acts and the process of justice delivery, the common man loses control over the fate of his complaint.
He pointed out that often in this path the justice-seeker feels like an outsider to the system.
However, he said that though this is a harsh reality, often the Indian legal system fails to take into account the social realities and implications.
Sadly, our system is designed in such a way that by the time all the facts and the law are churned out in court, a lot is lost. The CJI said that people may be bringing their problems to the courts, but what is left at the end of a day is another ‘matter’. Referring to states like Odisha, he said the challenge of access to justice increases in states with significant regional and economic disparities.
He said that the concept of access to justice in India is much broader than just providing a lawyer to represent an accused before the courts. He said that in India, the task of providing justice to the poor and marginalized has been entrusted to legal service institutions like OSLSA, whose activities include increasing legal awareness and legal literacy among sections that have traditionally been within the purview of our system. are out of. .
Whether it is a matter of compensation or eviction or a traditional issue of marriage and inheritance, a common man needs a swift remedy, he said.
The CJI said the officers of legal services have a greater responsibility to promote Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms like Lok Adalat, Mediation and Conciliation, so as to deliver justice, which is more inclusive, participatory and “definitely faster”. ” Be. The CJI said that if we want to retain the confidence of our people, we not only need to strengthen the judicial infrastructure, but we also need to boost our outreach programmes. Keeping in mind the gravity of the challenge, we have decided to launch a nationwide strong legal awareness mission in the coming week. I look for your cooperation and support to take this effort to the far-flung corners, he said.
Read also: What is NJIC? Agency to monitor infrastructure development in trial courts proposed by CJI
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs independent, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.