Jammu: Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud Wednesday urged the Judicial Officers to live up to the expectations of the people.
An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that after laying the foundation stone for the new High Court complex of J&K and Ladakh at Raika in Jammu, the CJI in his address described the Judicial Officers as frontline warriors and exhorted them to live up to the expectations of the people who seeking justice.
“It is our endeavour that every section of the society, poor or underprivileged, have access to justice. The foundation of the new HC complex and the newly launched IT initiatives are pioneer steps in bringing reforms in the justice delivery system,” he said.
The CJI also stressed for encouraging productive participation of women in delivery of justice.
He announced that from July, automatic listing would be resorted to, in case of hearing for the new trial. Given challenging geographical conditions of J&K and Ladakh, he stressed for innovative technological intervention to dispense justice to even those living in far off rural, hilly and treacherous areas
The CJI said, “Document Management System (DMS) and National Services and Tracking of Electronic Processes (NSTEP) were being adopted from today.”
Expressing concern over less participation of women in the judicial system, he said that the trend was similar across India and J&K, where only two out of 124 HC judges were women, was no exception.
On the occasion, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha congratulated all the members of the judiciary, legal fraternity, and expressed gratitude to the Centre for its support for the mega project.
“The new HC complex of J&K and Ladakh will be an integrated complex with state-of-the-art physical infrastructure and modern amenities,” he said.
Sinha lauded the e-Committee of the Supreme Court and Department of Law and Justice for their efforts to use future technologies like Artificial Intelligence for seamless and efficient justice delivery systems in courts.
“Million of hits to e-Court services every day reflect citizen-centric efforts, ease of justice, and digital empowerment,” he said.
“The 75 years journey of India’s independence is witness to democratic institutions fulfilling hope and aspiration of common citizens. Our constitution as guiding light has ensured prosperity, socio-economic progress, and dignity for all,” the LG said.
He said that the two important IT initiatives for the HC and all district courts launched on Wednesday would make legal system inclusive and accessible to all.
Sinha highlighted various initiatives taken recently in J&K for the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) enablement of courts.
He also shared the IT initiatives of the J&K government to make the governance process transparent, accountable, and responsive.
Lt Governor of Ladakh, Brig (Retd) B D Mishra gave a detailed discourse on fundamental duties and highlighted that democracy had to be defended by ensuring that the tenet of justice was upheld.
Document Management System (DMS) for the HC of J&K and Ladakh, and National Service and Tracking of Electronic Process (N-STEP) for district courts were also launched on the occasion.
Union MoS for Law and Justice, Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal, who joined through virtual mode, expressed hope that the DMS and N-STEP facilities would be milestones in the technology sector and accelerate the pace of development and progress.
He assured all possible financial support and adequate budget to the Government of J&K for the judicial infrastructural development.
Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Judge, Supreme Court of India; Justice Pankaj Mithal, Judge Supreme Court of India and Justice N Kotiswar Singh, Chief Justice, High Court of J&K and Ladakh also spoke on the occasion.
