Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated a Joint Conference of chief justices of high courts and chief ministers of states in the national capital and said that the judiciary should be both powerful and perfect.
Addressing the conference, PM Modi said, "We all are same kind of individuals carrying out different responsibilities as per our potential and capabilities. But this is not the case with people in judicial system. What they do is divine, and god has sent them to carry out this divine responsibility."
Mentioning that people of the nation have high expectations from judges, he stated that this responsibility is extraordinary responsibility.
Pitching for integrated approach to tackle pending cases in courts, Modi called for qualitative change. He said, "None of the responsibilities is one sided, more we use technology in judicial system, better it can function."
He further added, "The quicker we get technology in this field, the easier it is to bring about a qualitative change. Judiciary should be both powerful and perfect. This is the place that is trusted by the common people."
Speaking about the manpower in the judicial system, Modi said, "We need to look at the manpower that is coming in this field in the coming years. Our law universities also need proper manpower for drafting."
Modi also added that there is a need to have an in-built mechanism for judiciary for self assessment. He said, "We need to have a relook at functioning of tribunals to see whether they deliver justice or are a barrier."
The conference is being held to address pressing issues relating to the administration of justice in the country. While there are 2.64 crore undecided cases in the subordinate courts, about 42 lakh more cases are pending in the High Courts, according to official estimates.
Issues of salaries, emoluments of HC judges, augmentation of post-retirement benefits of judges and computerisation of courts would be taken up during the conference, the agenda said, adding that questions like whether the HCs can be given financial independence also figures in the list.
The conference may come out with "National Vision and Mission-Justice for All: 2015-2020" and is also likely to propose steps to be taken to strenghten the alternate disputes redressal mechanism like Lok Adalat and Mediation.
