New Delhi: Chief Justice of India NV Ramana once again flagged before the Central government the urgent requirement to improve the judicial infrastructure, noting with deep concern that it was not even meeting the basic minimum standards.On Saturday, the CJI was delivering his address at the national seminar on the adjudication of Intellectual Property Rights disputes in India. Present in dais was also Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.HAD RAISED BEFORE LAW MINISTER TOOCJI had earlier in October last year raised the issue in presence of Law Minister Rijiju urging the government to clear a proposal for setting up a National Judiciary Infrastructure Corporation.Chief Justice Ramana said on Saturday: “Judicial infrastructure needs to be improved. Unfortunately, we are not even meeting the basic minimum standards in this area. It has been my endeavour since assuming the office of Chief Justice of India, to put in place an institutional mechanism to coordinate and oversee the improvement of judicial infrastructure.”“Mere allocation of funds is not enough. The challenge is to put the available resources to optimum use. I have been pursuing the government for setting up of statutory authorities, both at the Centre and at the states. I hoping for a positive response soon.”CJI Ramana has recently sent a proposal to the law ministry for the establishment of a National Judicial Infrastructure Authority (NJIC). In the presence of Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on the dais at a function on October 23, CJI has asked the govt to place the proposal before parliament in the “upcoming winter session of parliament. Emphasising the need for modernisation of judicial infrastructure in the country, CJI had remarked “subordinate courts still operate from dilapidated structures”, making it difficult for the judiciary and the lawmakers to perform effectively.CJI RECENTLY LAID DOWN SHOCKING STATS (these are part of the report sent to the Law ministry)
WHY A STRONG INFRA REQ FOR JUDICIARYCJI is of the view that the importance of strengthening judicial infrastructure cannot be overstated. Sufficient judicial infrastructure can help improve access to justice, by catering to the ever-rising number of cases and litigants, and their changing needs.“Courts in India still operate from dilapidated structures, without proper facilities. Such a situation is severely detrimental to the experience of litigants and lawyers. It is an unpleasant work environment for Court staff and Judges, making it difficult to effectively perform their functions. We neglected and failed to focus on providing good infrastructure for Court in India after the British left”, the Chief Justice had said in a seminar he addressed soon after becoming Chief Justice.That is the reason why I am championing the National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation, which will develop concepts of the National Court Development Project and its implementation”, he had said.“The NJIC shall be along the lines of different infrastructure development statutory bodies that work towards creating National Assets across the country. One of the design principles that the NJIC will follow, is socially responsible and inclusive architecture”, said the Chief Justice.CJI Ramana had raised this issue even In the two-day-long deliberations with high court chief justices in four sessions on June 1 and 2, said poor infrastructure was proving to be a major stumbling block in justice and shared his vision for the creation of NJIC, which according to him would be tasked to build “comprehensive, self-contained, all-inclusive and modern court complexes across the country to augment judicial infrastructure”.HAD BATTLED FOR IT EVEN BEFORE BECOMING CJICJI Ramana had spoken about it even before becoming the Chief Justice of the country. At the inauguration of the new building of the Bombay HC at Goa in March, Justice NV Ramana highlighted the need for the modernisation of judicial infrastructure in the country and urged the creation of a national judicial infrastructure corporation as a one-time measure to cater to the needs of judicial infrastructure in the country.“Such a corporation would bring the uniformity and standardisation required to revolutionise judicial infrastructure, he said.After India’s Independence, the judiciary in general has not progressed at a pace equal to the other rungs of the state. “While science and technology have affected all walks of life, integrating the same into the judicial system has been an uphill task,” he had said.“We have all witnessed courts operating from dilapidated structures, rented premises, and without proper record rooms. There are premises without washrooms, waiting rooms and disabled-friendly rooms for litigants and lawyers This has an adverse impact on the qualitative dispensation of justice, and it is, therefore, important for the judiciary to concentrate its efforts on modernisation of the system”, he had said. Justice Ramana had then appealed to stakeholders and experts to provide a sustainable and inclusive model of modernisation of the judicial infrastructure in the country.“Undeniably, strengthening the judicial infrastructure is the most important tool to reduce pendency of cases. However, the understanding of judicial infrastructure has to move beyond the issues of pendency, vacancies and number of courtrooms. It should involve up-gradation and a barrier-free, citizen-free environment,” Justice Ramana had said.