The President of India Droupadi Murmu inaugurated the new building of the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday.
The event marked presence of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Union Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, and also the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
While delivering her address, President Murmu, batted for a creche facility in the new building for encouraging women for pursuing legal profession along with taking care of their children.
The President also spoke on the urgent need of reducing costs incurred in litigation.
President while talking about access to justice said that it is always a work in progress and we must find ways to improve the access.. cost is an important factor and expenses of litigation puts access to justice out of reach for many.
President Murmu also talked about the plight of undertrial prisoners, stating that prisons were overcrowded and the root cause of the problem has to be addressed.
The President added that It is good to see that the problem of undertrials is being debated.. several steps have been taken to make justice delivery system inclusive.
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud taking the discussion further added that delay in justice for undertrial prisoners can lead to erosion of trust in the justice delivery system.
The CJI while sharing his experiences at the High Court said he is aware of the difference between justice and injustice. Undertrials languish in prisons as they cannot cough up the funds required to pursue a case. Presumption of innocence is a fundamental of criminal law jurisprudence.
The CJI also emphasised that courts can reach over six lakh Indian villages only when its judgments are available in regional languages.
CJI elaborated that the aid of artificial intelligence we are aiming translating Supreme court judgments.. Almost 6,000 Supreme court judgments have been translated to Hindi….. about 34000 judgments of the supreme court is now available free of cost in e SCR portal.. and live streaming has helped take court proceedings to nook and corner of the country,” CJI elaborated.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal echoed this sentiment while speaking of challenges facing the judiciary.