Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates National Conference of District Judiciary
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates National
Conference of District Judiciary
Unveils stamp and coin commemorating 75 years of the establishment of the
Supreme Court of India
“75 years of the Supreme Court - this is the journey of the Constitution of
India and its constitutional values! This is the journey of India evolving as a
democracy!”
“75 years of the Supreme Court further enhance the glory of India as the Mother
of Democracy”
“140 crore citizens of India have only one dream in Azadi Ka Amrit Kaal –
Viksit Bharat, New India”
“Spirit of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita is 'Citizen First, Dignity First and Justice
First'”
The Prime
Minister, Narendra Modi inaugurated the National Conference of District
Judiciary at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today. The Prime Minister also
unveiled the stamp and coin commemorating 75 years of the establishment of the
Supreme Court of India. The two-day Conference, organized by the Supreme Court
of India, hosts five working sessions to deliberate and discuss the issues
related to the District Judiciary such as Infrastructure and Human Resources,
Inclusive Courtrooms for all, Judicial Security and Judicial Wellness, Case
Management and Judicial Training.
The Prime Minister began his address by recalling his
visit to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Rajasthan High Court a few days
ago and expressed gratitude for being present at the National Conference of
District Judiciary being organized today as part of the 75th year celebrations
of the Supreme Court of India. Shri underlined that the Supreme Court of
India’s journey of 75 years does not merely associate with one institution but
is also a journey of India’s Constitution, its values and the journey of India
evolving as a democracy. The Prime Minister highlighted the crucial role of the
makers of the Constitution and the entire judicial system in this journey. He
also mentioned the role of crores of citizens of India who entrusted this
judicial system. “People of India have never shown disbelief towards the
Supreme Court of India or the judiciary”, PM Modi exclaimed. Therefore, the
Prime Minister said, the journey of 75 years of the Supreme Court of India
emboldens India’s glory as the Mother of Democracy. It strengthens the cultural
proclamation of Satya Mev Jayate, Naanritam. Noting that the nation has
completed 75 years of its independence and is about to celebrate 75 years of
the Constitution, Prime Minister Modi said that the occasion is filled with
pride and inspiration. He congratulated all fraternities of the judicial system
and the citizens of India on the occasion and also conveyed his best wishes to
those taking part in the National Conference of District Judiciary.
“Judiciary is considered as the Guardian of our
Democracy”, underlined the Prime Minister. Terming it as a huge responsibility
in itself, Modi lauded the efforts of the Supreme Court in efficiently
discharging its responsibilities in this direction. He remarked that the
Judiciary upheld the spirit of justice since Independence and praised the
Judiciary for playing an important role in protecting the Constitution even
during the troubled times of Emergency. He further added that the Supreme
Court also protected against the attacks on fundamental rights and whenever the
question of national security arose, the judiciary protected the unity and
integrity of India by keeping the national interest paramount. For all these
achievements, PM congratulated all the distinguished persons of the judiciary
for these memorable 75 years.
Throwing light on the efforts in the past 10 years to
facilitate justice, the Prime Minister mentioned the work being done for the
modernisation of courts at the mission level and highlighted the contributions
of the Supreme Court and the judiciary. He said that the National Conference
for District Judiciary is another example of this and recalled the organisation
of ‘All India District Court Judges Conference’ by the Supreme Court and the
Gujarat High Court.
Noting the
importance of such events for initiating ease of justice, PM Modi highlighted
the issues to be discussed in the next two days and gave examples of management
of pending cases, human resources and improvement of the legal fraternity.
Prime Minister Modi expressed happiness that a session on Judicial Wellness is
also being organised in the next two days. “Personal wellness is the most
important requirement of social well-being. This will help us to prioritise
health in our work culture”, he added.
“Developed India, New India - is the desire and dream of
140 crore citizens in today’s Azadi ka Amrit Kaal”, emphasized the Prime
Minister. He added that New India meant a modern India with thinking and
determination. Modi underlined that the Judiciary was a strong pillar of this
vision and the District Judiciary in particular, being the base of our Indian
Judicial system. He remarked that the District judiciary was the first touch
point for justice for a common citizen of the country. Therefore, he emphasised
that it was of utmost priority that the first centres of justice should be
capable and modern in every way. Expressing confidence, Modi said that the
national conference and the discussions will help in fulfilling the
expectations of the country.
Underlining that the standard of living of common
citizens, determined by the ease of living, is the most meaningful parameter of
development for any country, the Prime Minister said that simple and easy
access to justice is imperative to ease of living. He said that it can be made
possible only when the district courts are equipped with modern infrastructure
and technology. Pointing out the pendency of about 4.5 crore cases in the
district courts, PM Modi said that work has been carried out at multiple levels
in the last decade to eliminate this delay in justice. He informed that the
country has spent about Rs 8,000 crore for the development of judicial
infrastructure. He further added that 75 percent of the funds spent on judicial
infrastructure in the last 25 years took place only in the last 10 years. “In
these 10 years, more than 7.5 thousand court halls and 11 thousand residential
units have been prepared for the District Judiciary”, he added.
Underlining the importance of e-Courts, Modi said that
the intervention of technology has not only accelerated the judicial processes
but also has rapidly reduced the problems of people ranging from lawyers to
complainants. The Prime Minister highlighted that the courts were being digitised
in the country and the e-Committee of the Supreme Court was playing an
important role in all these efforts.
The Prime Minister noted that the third phase of the
e-Courts project was approved in 2023. He added that India was moving towards
creating a unified technology platform, which incorporated emerging
technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Optical character recognition.
Shri Modi highlighted that such technological platforms would help analyse
pending cases and predict future cases as well. He added that technology would
integrate and speed up the work of various departments like Police, forensics,
jail and court. “We are moving towards a justice system which will be
completely future-ready”, Shri Modi remarked.
Prime Minister Modi highlighted the crucial role of
policies and laws along with infrastructural and technological advancements in
the transformational journey of the nation. Therefore, Shri Modi said, the
nation has made such big and important changes in the legal framework for the
first time in 70 years of independence. Referring to the new Indian judicial
system in the form of Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Prime Minister said that the
spirit of these laws is 'Citizen First, Dignity First and Justice First'. He
pointed out that India’s criminal laws have been freed from the colonial
mindset of rulers and slaves. He gave the example of repealing a colonial-era
law like sedition.
Throwing light
on the idea behind the Nyaya Sanhita to not punish citizens but to protect
them, PM Modi mentioned the implementation of stricter laws for crimes against
women and children, and provisions of community service for punishment for
minor crimes for the first time. He also spoke about Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam
and said that electronic and digital records have been recognized as evidence
under the new laws. He also mentioned the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita and
said that a system is in place to send summons in electronic mode to reduce the
burden of pending cases on the judiciary. The Prime Minister also urged to take
necessary steps to train the district judiciary in this new system under the
guidance of the Supreme Court. He also suggested judges and lawyer colleagues
become a part of this campaign. “Our lawyers and bar associations have an
important role in making the public familiar with this new system”, he added.
Drawing the attention of the gathering against the
burning issue, the Prime Minister emphasised that atrocities against women and
the safety of children were a serious concern in the society today. Modi
highlighted that many strict legislations were enacted for the safety of women
in the country. He added that in 2019, the government had planned to establish
fast-track special courts. Explaining further, he said that there was a
provision for a deposition centre for important witnesses under the fast-track
special courts. He further stressed on the important role of District
Monitoring Committees under fast-track special courts, consisting of the
District Judge, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police. He added that
the committee’s role was important in creating coordination between various
aspects of the Criminal Justice System. Modi stressed on the need to make these
committees more active. He added that the quicker the decisions in cases
related to atrocities against women, the greater will be the assurance of
safety for half the population.
Concluding the address, the Prime Minister expressed
confidence that the discussions taking place will yield valuable solutions for
the country and will strengthen the path to ‘Justice to all’.
The Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud, Judges
of the Supreme Court, Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice BR Gavai, Union MoS
(Independent Charge) for Law & Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General
of India, R Venkataramani, President of Supreme Court Bar Association, Kapil
Sibbal and Chairman of Bar Council of India Manan Kumar Mishra were present on
the occasion among others.