MUMBAI: Chief Justice of India N V Ramana on Saturday said a good judicial infrastructure was important for improving access to justice, but it was baffling that its improvement and maintenance was being carried out in an ad-hoc and unplanned manner in the country.
Inaugurating the annexure building of the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench and with union law and justice minister Kiren Rijiju on the stage, the CJI pitched for a national judicial infrastructure body, suggesting that the matter be taken up in the coming winter session of parliament.
Rijiju said in turn said there was “no-politics” when it comes to the judiciary and “we are just different organs of the system but we are a team. There should be a harmonious relationship between the judiciary, the executive and the legislature. They are all working for our nation. We are a team.”
Ramana said an effective judiciary can help in the growth of the economy. He said courts were extremely essential for a society that is governed by the rule of law. He advised the people not to hesitate in approaching the courts. “The common man deals with multiple legal issues during his lifetime. One must never feel hesitant to approach Courts. After all, people’s faith in the judiciary is the biggest strength of democracy,” the CJI said.
Highlighting the poor judicial infrastructure, the CJI made some shocking revelations. He said almost 20 per cent of judicial officers in the country did not have proper courtrooms to sit in. Of the total sanctioned strength of 24,280 judicial officers, there are only 20,143 court halls, including 620 rented premises.
Justice Ramana said 26 per cent of the court premises had no toilets for women, 16 per cent did not have toilets for men while only 54 per cent courts had purified drinking water facilities.