President Droupadi Murmu unveiled a new flag and insignia for the Supreme Court to commemorate its 75th anniversary in the national capital on Sunday.President Murmu graced the valedictory session of the two-day National Conference of District Judiciary, organised by the Supreme Court of India.
She emphasised that there are many challenges before the judiciary that will require coordinated efforts by all stakeholders to be resolved, informed an official release. Addressing the gathering, the President said that since its establishment, the Supreme Court of India has made an invaluable contribution as a vigilant sentinel of the judicial system of the world’s largest democracy.
Indian jurisprudence has a very respectable place because of the Supreme Court. She appreciated the contribution of all present and past people associated with the Indian Judiciary. She was happy to note that on the completion of 75 years of its establishment, the Supreme Court has organised many programmes that have increased people’s trust and attachment towards our judicial system.
The President said that the feeling of faith and reverence towards justice has been a part of our tradition. She referred to her address on a previous occasion and reiterated that people consider every judge in the country as God. The President said that in recent years there have been significant improvements in the availability of infrastructure, facilities, training, and human resources of the judiciary at the district level, but a lot remains to be done in all these areas.
She affirmed confidence that the rapid progress would continue on all dimensions of reform.
The President said that pendency and backlog of cases are big challenges before the judiciary. She stressed the need to ponder the serious issue of cases remaining pending for as long as over 32 years. She emphasised that programmes such as special Lok Adalat week should be organised more frequently and said that this will help in tackling the pendency of cases.
President Murmu also expressed her happiness while noting that many aspects related to case management were discussed in one of the sessions of this conference. She expressed confidence that these discussions will yield practical results.
The President said that the Constitution provides for the power and responsibilities of the legislative and executive bodies at the local level through panchayats and municipalities.
She asked if we could think of a justice system at the local level equivalent to these and stated that making arrangements to provide justice in the local language and local conditions can help in achieving the ideal of taking justice to everyone’s doorstep, the release stated.
The President said that when court decisions in a heinous crime like rape come after a generation has passed, the common man feels that the judicial process lacks sensitivity. She stated that it is a sad aspect of our social life that, in some cases, people with resources continue to roam around fearlessly and freely even after committing crimes, and those who suffer from their crimes live in fear, as if those poor people have committed some crime.
The President also expressed happiness at the fact that the Supreme Court has ordered the implementation of the provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita with retrospective effect. Under this, there is a provision to release first-time accused and those who have served one-third of the prescribed maximum imprisonment period, on bail, the release added.
She expressed confidence that by implementing the new system of criminal justice with this promptness, our judiciary will usher in a new era of justice.