CJI in Srinagar: ‘Choice of venue… reflects mainstreaming of J&K, Ladakh’

The CJI made these remarks at the inaugural session of the 19th all-India meet of the National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) in Srinagar.

“To my mind, the choice of the venue for this very significant meet, from the perspective of the Indian judiciary, reflects the mainstreaming of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in the discourse on development,” he said.

Terming NALSA an “exemplar of the nation’s commitment to serve others”, he said while the Constitution recognises the fundamental rights of every individual regardless of their social and economic status, “the greater challenge is to ensure that the Constitution and rights become accessible to common people”.

According to the CJI, the “underutilisation” of legal aid services is largely due to lack of awareness, difficulty in accessing legal aid and services and the lack of confidence in state legal aid services. “One way of achieving this goal (utilisation of legal aid services) is the effective use of social media to reach out to the target beneficiaries. The judiciary has been a poor communicator for the simple reason that we feel that we are not here to market ourselves.”

The CJI urged legal service institutions to encourage more women and transgender persons to serve as lawyers and paralegal volunteers. “Their presence will help the legal services institutions in reaching out to women and transgender fraternity, who are often less trusting of legal institutions,” he said.

He also spoke about the use of technology in reducing barriers and accessing quality legal aid. “Our legal services institutions have adopted technology as a means to reach out to people. We have operationalised the legal services management system portal to allow individuals to apply online for free legal aid.”

Stating that “religion, caste and gender identity” often contribute to marginalisation within the legal system, he said, “We cannot shy away from the exclusionary nature of our legal system, especially for people who lack the necessary social and economic capital to navigate the legal maze with ease.”

He said prisoners, especially women, migrant workers and persons who have lost contact with their families find it difficult to comply with bail conditions. “We need to ensure that legal aid is continuously provided to prisoners during the trial process.”

The Chief Justice also expressed optimism concerning the use of technology to facilitate legal services, coupled with other initiatives, such as eCourts project, which can expand access to justice.

He said that for people to trust legal aid, it must be competent and of the desired quality. “We need to further increase the capabilities of our lawyers and paralegal volunteers. Encourage them to unlearn their social biases and adequately incentivise their efforts to enable them to understand and address the legal problems of the people.”

Apart from the CJI, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Lieutenant Governors of J&K Manoj Sinha and Ladakh’s Brigadier (retd) B D Mishra and Chief Justices of High Courts of several states were present at the event.