Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Saturday suggested the authorities dealing with legal services to make optimum use of social media for reaching out to the beneficiaries of various legal services and those in need of such services.
Inaugurating the 19th All India Legal Services Authorities meet in Srinagar, the CJI said that despite continuous efforts by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to publicise the facilities in place for free legal aid, citizens remained unaware of the same.
As per the CJI, the use of social media could help in reaching out to such persons in need.
He said if the citizens had to depend on a lawyer to secure information about the legal services authority, then maybe the system was not accessible enough.
He encouraged the legal service institutions to become more proactive in bringing citizens within the fold of legal aid and services.
He said one way to achieve this goal was to make effective use of social media and reach out to target beneficiaries.
As per the CJI, the judiciary was called a poor communicator because those who were a part of the institution, were not marketing it well.
Noting that the social media had emerged as an effective form of communication, the CJI said it could be used to market the judiciary as well.
Stressing on the importance of competent and high-quality legal aid to build trust among the people, the CJI called for enhancing the capabilities of lawyers and paralegal volunteers.
He further advocated for an increase in representation of women and transgender individuals in the legal profession, emphasising on the need for inclusivity in legal services institutions.
The event also witnessed release of a manual for District Legal Services Authorities functioning across the country.
The meet was significant from the perspective of the Indian Judiciary and reflected the mainstreaming of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the discourse of development in India, the CJI observed.
Supreme Court judges – Justice Sanjay Krishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Tashi Rabstan of the High Court were present on the occasion.
The event also witnessed participation of Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, Lieutenant Governors of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Manoj Sinha and BD Mishra.