Ranchi
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday called upon the judiciary and other stakeholders to “devise a system to deal with such cases where court verdicts are not implemented”.
She was speaking after inaugurating the new Jharkhand High Court, India’s biggest in terms of area and constructed at a cost of around Rs 550 crore.
Speaking extempore briefly while concluding her speech, Murmu underlined the issues related to implementation of verdicts given by the courts. She urged the Chief Justice of India, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Judges and other stakeholders to devise a system to deal with such cases where verdicts are not implemented. She highlighted that the people who have spent their time, energy and money to fight the case for years should get justice in real sense.
While she pointed out that people are not able to rejoice their legal victories that come after much delay by when they have had lost their most precious possession and lamented the long delay in delivering justice. She wondered where the people should be going if they didn’t get prompt justice from the judiciary.
“A large number of people languish for years in prisons as undertrials. Prisons are overcrowded, making their life all the more difficult. We should address the root cause of the problem. When I say ‘we’, I include the whole society,” she stressed.
She maintained that the language of justice should be inclusive, so that the parties to the particular case as well as interested citizens at large can become effective stakeholders in the system.
“It has been observed that the expenses of litigation all too often put the quest of justice out of reach for many citizens. I urge all stakeholders to think innovatively and find new ways to expand the reach of justice,” the President exhorted.
She appreciated Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud for addressing the gathering in Hindi and added that the other Judges and senior functionaries of the judiciary may take inspirational lessons.
Speaking about the new state of the art High Court, she said the entire campus is designed and constructed by keeping the principle of energy conservation in mind. I am sure this new building of the Jharkhand High Court will inspire other public and private organisations to make the environment the central factor in their projects of similar nature, the President said.
Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Mishra were among the prominent dignitaries present on the occasion.
