At the Supreme Court of India’s Constitution Day celebrations on November 26, 2022, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud gave a speech. The Chief Justice stressed in his speech the value of technology in ensuring that everyone has access to justice and the necessity for the legal system to reach out to the public rather than the other way around.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud began his speech by emphasising that the Indian Constitution constituted a social contract between the historically powerful and the marginalised. Bringing attention to the necessity of improving marginalised communities’ representation in the legal profession. He said-
“The story of the Indian constitution is not just a story of legal text but is a story of human struggles and sacrifices, on undoing the injustices against the marginalised communities of society– the women, the Dalits and the disabled. The marginalised were the first to bring ideas or equality and liberty in the Indian law. The first wave of resistance against colonial power came from indigenous communities.”
CJI emphasised that even when the rights of marginalised people were at stake, colonial courts frequently declined to get involved in instances involving socio-religious practises. It was crucial that Indian judges at all levels, from the district court to the Supreme Court, thought carefully about how to protect the constitutional ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.
“I believe, as the Chief Justice of India, it is my responsibility to consult judges in the Supreme Court, the High Court and the district judiciary. It is important to tap into the rich experience of all the members of the judiciary. The representation of marginalised communities must be enhanced in the legal profession.” Stated the CJI.
CJI Chandrachud emphasised that in a country as diverse as India, the accessibility of justice posed the greatest challenge to the judiciary. He noted that decisions made in South Africa, Kenya, Australia, Jamaica, Uganda, Bangladesh, Singapore, and Fiji among other countries were influenced by the jurisprudence that came from Indian courts. In this situation, He added-
“It’s essential that the judiciary reaches people and not expect the people to reach out judiciary. The infrastructure of technology must not be dismantled. Though the Supreme Court is located at Tilak Marg, it is the Supreme Court for the entire nation. The virtual access has made it possible for lawyers to argue cases from their own places. As a CJI, I am looking to adopt technology in listing of cases and court hearings, which will help to weed out institutional flaws such as delay in listing and hearing.”
CJI Chandrachud added that the National Judicial Data Grid now included 77 lakh High Court decisions that were freely accessible to all citizens. CJI Chandrachud also advocated for institutional reforms to address difficulties with access to justice, urging that the technical framework put in place during the COVID-19 era be enhanced rather than destroyed. He claimed that the district judiciary needed to be improved upon and strengthened because it served as the initial point of contact for those seeking access to justice.
CJI Chandrachud delivered a summary of the activities the Prime Minister is launching as part of the e-court programme before drawing to a close. The projects include:
- Virtual Justice Clock: The goal of the Virtual Justice Clock initiative is to display key data regarding the administration of justice at the Court level, including information regarding cases that have been filed, those that have been resolved, and the status of cases on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. By releasing information on how cases are being handled by the court to the public, an effort is being made to make the operation of the courts visible and accountable. On the District Court website, anybody can access the Virtual Justice Clock for any court location.
- JustIS mobile application 2.0: The JustIS Mobile App 2.0 is a tool provided to judicial officers for efficient case and court management by tracking the status of each judge who works for them as well as the court’s overall disposition. Judges of the High Court and Supreme Court can now check the status of all pending cases in the States and Districts that fall under their purview thanks to this app.
- Digital Court: The goal of the digital court project is to enable the transition to paperless courts by making the court records digitally accessible to the judge.
- S3WaaS Websites: The S3WaaS Websites framework allows for the creation, configuration, deployment, and management of websites for the publication of specific data and services pertaining to district judicial. A cloud service called S3WaaS was created for use by government organisations to create websites that are secure, scalable, and sugamya (accessible). It is divyang friendly, multilingual, and citizen friendly.
Written by:- Lakshman Singh, 3rd Semester, B.B.A LL.B (Hons.), Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow
