Essential to make litigation process 'citizen centric': CJI
November 26, 2022 15:37
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said technology must be augmented with institutional reforms to resolve issues of access to justice, and it is essential to simplify the litigation process and make it "citizen centric".
He also said the judiciary has been adopting technology to improve the working of courts and it is of "supreme importance" that courts are remodelled to reach out to citizens instead of them reaching out to courts in their quest for justice.
Speaking at the Constitution Day celebrations at the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India said judges across the country must reflect upon the constitutional vision of securing justice, equality and liberty.
He said it is important that representation of marginalised communities and women in the legal profession and judiciary is increased.
Justice Chandrachud also spoke about the e-initiatives -- virtual justice clock, justIS mobile app 2.0, digital court and s3WaaS websites of district courts -- that were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the function.
In a nation as large and diverse as India, the "paramount challenge" the judiciary faces as an institution is to ensure that the justice delivery system is accessible to everyone, he said.
"We have been adopting technology to improve the working of courts. It is of supreme importance and necessity that courts are remodelled to reach out to people instead of people reaching out to courts in their quest for justice," the CJI said.
"To ensure that courts reach out to people, it is essential that the process of litigation is simplified and made citizen centric," he said.
Justice Chandrachud said though the judiciary's engagement with technology gained prevalence during the COVID-19 pandemic, "we must not dismantle the infrastructure but built upon it".
"I will earnestly request the chief justices of high courts to ensure that the technological infrastructure, on which public funds have been spent, is not dismantled but strengthened further," he said.
Justice Chandrachud said as the CJI, he is attempting to adopt technology based services in listing of cases and court hearings "so that institutional flaws such as delays in listing and hearing can be removed from our vocabulary".
"While technology has ably aided us in ensuring functionality of the judiciary during the pandemic, technology must be augmented with institutional reforms to resolve the chief issue of access to justice," he said.
The CJI said the first interface of people with the judicial system is the district judiciary and it is of paramount importance that it is strengthened and supported. "The district judiciary must be lifted from the mindset of being a subordinate judiciary," he said.
Giving details of the e-initiatives launched by the prime minister, Justice Chandrachud said these initiatives reflect upon the commitment of judiciary towards providing access to justice.
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