NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that ‘ease of justice’ is the right of every citizen and the Supreme Court is its medium. Addressing the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Supreme Court, the PM said the Centre has sanctioned Rs 800 crore for expansion of the SC building.
Stressing the need for an empowered judicial system as a part of Viksit Bharat, Modi asked the apex court to work towards capacity building of stakeholders to ensure the transition from old laws to the new regime is seamless.
Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, speaking at the same function, said the judiciary needs to begin “difficult conversations” to remain relevant as an institution. He said the ‘adjournment culture’ and long vacations need to go, to tackle the issue of case backlogs.
“We must emerge out of the adjournment culture to a culture of professionalism,” the Chief Justice of India said.
Lengthy oral arguments in courts often lead to delays in judicial outcomes, making it difficult to dispose cases within a reasonable time, he pointed out.
He stressed that reforms are necessary to curb the length of arguments in cases and the apex court needs a take re-look on the choice of matters it hears.
The CJI urged all stakeholders to have a meaningful conversation on long vacations and think of alternatives such as flexitime for lawyers and judges to dispose of cases in a reasonable timeframe.
Commenting on the 65,915 pending cases in the SC, CJI asked: “There has to be a radical change in the approach to decision making. In our desire to ensure justice in each individual case, should we risk the Court becoming dysfunctional.”