After temple visits, CJI D Y Chandrachud flags ‘dhwaja of justice’ to district court lawyers
The new court building on Jamnagar Road in Rajkot, constructed at a cost of Rs 110 crore, will house around 50 courtrooms, which so far were functioning from four buildings on three campuses.
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Chief Justice of India Justice DY Chandrachud with family at Dwarkadhish temple, in Devbhoomi Dwarka district, Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024. (PTI Photo) Drawing inspiration from dhwaja or flags atop temples which bind “all of us together”, Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud Saturday urged district court lawyers to function in a manner that the “dhwaja of justice” keeps flying for generations to come.
“In envisioning a society where every citizen is assured the right to justice, the district courts emerge as the initial point of recourse for every citizen who seeks redress. Citizens don’t come to the Supreme Court first and foremost. They come to the district courts. So in your work as members of the bar, you will generate confidence, or the lack of confidence in citizens. It is in our efficiency as district court lawyers that we will really ensure that this dhwaja of justice will keep flying in the generations to come,” CJI Chandrachud said in Rajkot.
Referring to the dhwaja atop Dwarka and Somnath temples which he visited during his two-day visit to Gujarat, the CJI said, “I was inspired this morning by the dhwaja at Dwarkadhish ji, very similar to the dhwaja, which I saw at Jagannath Puri. But look at this universality of the tradition in our nation, which binds all of us together. This dhwaja has a special meaning for us. And that meaning which the dhwaja gives us is – there is some unifying force above all of us, as lawyers, as judges, as citizens. And that unifying force is our humanity, which is governed by the rule of law and by the Constitution of India,” he said.
Justice Chandrachud said that he had started visiting various states “inspired by the life and ideals of Mahatma Gandhi” to understand challenges facing the judiciary and to identify solutions, adding that his two-day Gujarat visit was part of the same effort. “I tried touring various states over the past one year so that I can meet judges of high courts and officers of the district judiciary, listen to their problems and thereby, we can find solutions to challenges facing the judiciary… By interacting with them, I am able to comprehend their problems and identify effective solutions,” he said.
His tour, he said, is also aimed at sharing with high court judges and officers of district judiciary the achievements of Indian judiciary.
The new court building on Jamnagar Road in Rajkot, constructed at a cost of Rs 110 crore, will house around 50 courtrooms, which so far were functioning from four buildings on three campuses. Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, Justice Sunita Agarwal, and state Law Minister Minister Rushikesh Patel, also attended the inauguration.
Addressing a public meeting later, Justice Chandrachud talked about his visits to Dwarkadhish temple in Dwarka town and Somnath temple in Somnath in Gir Somnath district earlier in the day. He said he was “moved” by the waste disposal system at Somnath temple and urged courts in Gujarat to draw inspiration from the system.
“When I visited Somnath ji this morning, I was so deeply moved that this is the first temple in India that has a zero-waste facility. Let us be inspired by making every court system in the state a zero-waste facility. It is then that we will be truly inspired by the ideals of these great temples, which dot the landscape of Gujarat,” he said addressing a gathering of lawyers, judges, judicial officers and common citizens in Rajkot.
The Shree Somnath Trust has developed a system for segregation and disposal of solid waste under the Union government-sponsored National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive scheme.
“We have set up a sewage treatment plant with a capacity to treat 2.5 lakh litres of sewage every day. Presently, we are able to supply average 1.25 lakh litres of treated sewage water for agriculture and horticulture. Similarly, we have also developed a facility for segregating solid waste. While we send biodegradable waste to our composting facility for preparing manure and vermiculture, other material recovered from the waste is sold for recycling. On an average, we prepare half-a-ton of manure and vermiculture daily,” Pravin Laheri, former retired chief secretary of Gujarat who is now one of the members of board of trustees told The Indian Express.
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