NEW DELHI: Courts can no longer remain confined within physical spaces or limited by geography, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said on Tuesday while laying out an ambitious plan for the future of the Indian judiciary.
“The traditional model of justice, where citizens must approach courts physically, must give way to a system where justice reaches people efficiently and equitably,” said the CJI, while delivering the 4th Ashok Desai Memorial Lecture on the theme ‘Reimagining Justice: The Indian Judiciary 50 Years Hence’. “In a rapidly evolving society, the judiciary must adapt to ensure that access to justice is no longer dependent on location, resources, or procedural complexity,” he said.
The CJI also highlighted that there should be a need for a justice delivery system that is accessible, responsive, and deeply integrated into the daily lives of citizens. “Justice is no longer something one must travel to seek but something that reaches individuals efficiently and equitably and with sensitivity to the realities of a changing society,” he said.
“The judiciary’s long-term goal should be to build a system that, over the next five decades, becomes more accessible, transparent, and closely aligned with the needs of society,” he added.
Highlighting that the future of justice delivery lies in reimagining institutional frameworks to eliminate barriers that traditionally hinder access, the CJI said that the nature of disputes before courts is set to become increasingly complex.
“Judges of the future cannot remain confined to being mere interpreters of statutes and precedents but must develop a broader understanding of emerging fields,” he said.
Highlighting that the movement towards a paperless system is already underway, the CJI said the future will demand far more than the digitisation of existing processes.
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SC to hear plea for disability-sensitive norms
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and the LIC on a plea seeking a direction to the LIC to frame and implement disability-sensitive guidelines for welfare insurance schemes. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta agreed to hear the plea which sought a direction to the Centre to exercise policy oversight to ensure that welfare insurance schemes for persons with disabilities are implemented in conformity with guarantees under Articles 14 and 21.