Keywords- High Court, Division Bench, Session Court, Human Rights.
On Wednesday, the Bombay High Court inquired with the court administration about the existence of any sensitization programs for judges assigned to hear cases related to violations of citizens human rights.
During the proceedings, a Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Arif Doctor raised a query based on a remark made by Advocate Rahul Nerlekar, who represented the High Court administration. Nerlekar highlighted that specific judges in sessions courts had been assigned to handle cases related to human rights violations since the early 2000s.
The Bench received information that in the year 2022, there were only two cases filed and awaiting resolution before the assigned judges. One case was being heard by a sessions judge in Aurangabad, while the other was being heard by a sessions judge in Sangli.
The Bench requested the petitioner to conduct research and determine if there were any provisions or legal requirements that would authorize the issuance of such guidelines.
Adv. Asim Sarode, representing himself as the petitioner, along with Adv. Ajinkya Udane, contended that the limited number of cases might be attributed to a lack of public awareness regarding the existence of such specialized courts.
The Bench also instructed Sarode to provide documented information regarding at least one case of this nature and scheduled the next hearing for July 27.
Written By- Muskan Vyas, Legal Journalist Intern under Legal Vidhiya
