KOCHI: President Ram Nath Kovind suggested a system could be found where certified copies of judgments translated into regional languages are made available by the courts in a period of say 24 or 36 hours after they are pronounced.The President said adjournments should be made only in an emergency situation and not as a tactic to prolong court proceedings.
''The High Courts deliver judgments in English, but we're a country of diverse languages. The litigant may not be conversant with English and the finer points of the judgment may escape him or her. The litigating parties will thus be dependent on the lawyer or another person to translate the judgment '' said Kovind.
Expressing concern over the delay in delivery of justice, he said mechanisms to ensure quick disposal of cases had to be devised.
''Often those who suffer are among the poorest and most underprivileged in the society. Our common citizens have trust and faith that the judiciary will ever stand by them, and never let them down," Kovind told the legal fraternity.
Kovind was speaking after inaugurating the valedictory ceremony of the Kerala High Court's diamond jubilee celebration in Kochi on Saturday. He also released a postal cover to mark the occasion.
Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, who presided over the function, said justice should be made accessible to every citizen by ensuring free legal aid.
Kovind pointed out judiciary and justice-delivery mechanism should continue to keep up with technology as nature of cases and speed had undergone changes.“Society and economy have become more complex as well as more integrated with the global system. The nature of disputes and cases has also undergone a change. The dynamism and evolution in business and trade law and in financial markets, the changing nature of intellectual property and technology, and the still-emerging norms of the digital sphere, internet law and governance are among examples of new questions and frameworks that the judiciary has to grapple with,’’ he said.
Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, who delivered the keynote address, said new methods, new tools and innovative strategies would have to be devised for ensuring justice to all.“Delay in disposal of cases will diminish the confidence of the citizen in the judicial process. The Arrears Committees of the Supreme Court and the High Courts had reduced the backlog of cases,’’ said Justice Misra, adding the motto of the judiciary should be that court exists for the people and not people for the court.Union Minister of Law and Justice Ravi Shakar Prasad highlighted the need to provide real-time digital information on litigation.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan and Kerala High Court Chief Justice Naviniti Prasad Singh also spoke.