We must create multitude of equitable ways for different groups: CJI Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud on Tuesday said we must create a multitude of equitable ways for different groups women members of the LGBT community persons with disabilities elderly poor and marginalised to engage and participate in the process of adjudicationWhile delivering a speech in Delhi High Courts new building he said fairness the principle of equality efficiency and impartiality are inherent in our understanding of access to justice In order to make sure that we are providing equal access to justice attention must be paid to the design and administration of the judicial setupI do want to emphasize that our judicial system and courtrooms must be democratic inclusive and equally accessible their design must accommodate people from diverse backgrounds ensuring meaningful participation said CJI ChandrachudAn important component of actualising the right to access to justice is ensuring that we have adequate judicial infrastructure including physical and digital infrastructure and personnel strength One of the goals of the eCourts project is to provide qualitative and speedy justice through efficient court management A positive correlation between judicial infrastructure and the quality and speedy dispensation of justice has long been establishedAlso Read Justice delivery system should be accessible to everyone CJI D Y ChandrachudThe constitutionally recognised right to access to justice enshrined in Article 14 Article 21 and Article 39A of our Constitution breathes life into the principle of the Rule of LawThe National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms states that adequate judicial infrastructure is a precondition for reducing delaysTraditionally judicial spaces have been used to contribute to the idea of the majesty of law Court complexes built during the colonial times were used to create an imposing effect over the public restricting the access to an exclusive few However our understanding of justice has drastically changed and our efforts are now concentrated on reaching out to the people Judicial spaces are considered to be public civic spaces and thus should be universally accessible The symbolism of court complexes helps in materialising justice making it tangible and corporeal for citizens who come from far and wide The courtroom whether physical or virtual provides the setting where the search for justice takes place for the citizenThe increasing judicial work in the Delhi High Court put pressure on the already hard pressed existing infrastructure leading to the requirement to construct additional buildings in the form of C Block and S BlockThe magnificent building of S Block boasts of 200 law chambers a judicial convention centre and an auditorium space for administrative offices and a multilevel parking facility Common meeting rooms lawyers cafeteria and open green spaces would definitely provide an enabling and stressfree environment for litigants and lawyers to discuss and collaborateA dedicated space for the Delhi International Arbitration Centre in the S Block is a step in the right direction for strengthening the practice of ADR in this country It sends a positive signal to the domestic and international commercial worldA term which has been repeatedly used to describe the newly constructed S Block of the High Court of Delhi is that it personifies democratic architecture with open offices pedestrian paths seating space equity and universal accessibility Louis Sullivan a prominent American architect who is perhaps best known for his aphorism form follows function once said The spirit of democracy is a function seeking expression in organized social formTherefore arrange your architecture for democracy not feudalismUnion Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju who also was the guest at the inauguration function said in the near future the Indian judiciary will go completely paperless He said I had a detailed meeting about the eCourt projects For ecourts I have also requested the Chief Justice of India CJI to complete the task in his tenureThe lawyers of the country should be prepared for paperless We have also conveyed to my law officers that very soon we will have to go paperless said RijijuRijiju while delivering a speech during an event of the inauguration of the Delhi High Courts new building stated that as the Centre has a welldefined role we cannot do much for the High Court infrastructure as it is the state governments who have to look after the expenditure for developing the infrastructureChief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Tuesday inaugurated a new building called S block of Delhi High Court Besides the Chief Justice of India Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Puri Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul Justice Hima Kohli Justice Sanjeev Khanna of Supreme Court Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were guests of honour at the inauguration functionThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever