Bar at times has “not been very cooperative” in disposal of cases: CJI Thakur
With nearly three crore cases pending in Indian courts,
President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said the judiciary is yet to fully
meet people’s aspirations for “speedy and affordable” justice.
As
the huge pendency of cases caused concern, the Chief Justice of India,
T. S. Thakur, did not mince any words as he said the Bar at times has
“not been very cooperative” in disposal of cases even if judges are
ready to put extra hours.
Justice Thakur also said
that judiciary as an institution is facing crisis of credibility which
is a challenge from within and asked judges to be conscientious of their
duties.
President Mukherjee, who was inaugurating
the 150th anniversary celebration of Allahabad High Court, said justice
must be “accessible, affordable and quick” for people to understand the
meaning of justice.
“Though the Indian judiciary has
many strengths, it is yet to fully meet the aspirations of our people
for speedy and affordable justice,” he said.
The
remarks by the President and the CJI came a day after Prime Minister
Narendra Modi mooted a novel idea of courts coming out with an annual
bulletin to highlight the oldest cases being tried by them to help
create sensitivity on pendency of cases. Mr. Modi was speaking during
the centenary celebrations of Patna High Court on Saturday.
The
President said as an upholder of the Rule of Law and enforcer of the
right to liberty, the role of the judiciary was sacrosanct and the faith
and confidence people have in it must be always maintained.
“Our
courts are today overburdened on account of number of cases pending
before them. There are over three crore cases pending in various courts
throughout the country.
“Out of these, about 38.5
lakh cases are pending in 24 High Courts. The pendency of cases in the
High Courts has slightly declined from 41.5 lakh in 2014 to 38.5 lakh in
2015, but still have a long way to go,” he said.
The
CJI said he can assure the lawyers that if Bar cooperates, judges will
be ready to sit even on Saturdays to finish old matters, especially
related to people languishing in jail for years.
“At times judges feel that the delay in the disposal of cases is only because the Bar does not, at times, cooperate,” he said.
Mr.
Mukherjee noted that the judiciary has played an important role since
Independence in strengthening the democratic framework of the country
and maintaining rule of law.
“High Courts in
particular have a unique position under the Constitution of India. They
are not only guardians of people’s rights and liberty, they also have
the onerous responsibility of ensuring that access to justice is not
denied to any citizen on account of economic or any other disability,”
the President said.
He said judiciary which is one of
the three important pillars of our democracy, is the final interpreter
of the Constitution and it must help maintain social order by swiftly
and effectively dealing with those on the wrong side of the law.
The
President said the governments, judges and lawyers must work hand in
hand to make justice a living reality, observing, “Justice delayed is
justice denied”. - PTI
Sources: The Hindu
No comments:
Post a Comment