Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that 1.3 billion Indians have disregarded apprehensions and “wholeheartedly” accepted recent critical judicial verdicts which were subjects of the global discussion. He was speaking at the International Judicial Conference 2020 at the Supreme Court today.
“Recently, there have been some important judicial judgements which were subject of global discussions. Before these judgements, several concerns were being expressed about consequences, but 1.3 billion Indians accepted these judicial verdicts wholeheartedly,” PM Modi added referring to recent SC verdicts.
“Issues like data protection, cybercrime pose new challenges for judiciary; artificial intelligence will help in dealing with them,” he added.
“Changes in the system should be rational and as per law,” PM Modi said.
“No country in the world can progress fully without gender justice or can claim to be Right to Equality. Our Constitution provides that under the Right to Equality. India is one of the few nations in the world who allowed their women to vote after Independence,” he said.
He also spoke about Mahatma Gandhi. “Respected Mahatma Gandhi ji’s life was devoted to truth and service, which are considered foundation of any judiciary. He himself was a barrister. He has written in great detail in his autobiography about the first case he fought,” PM Modi said.
“India is a melting pot of many cultures and traditions, this is equally true of its judicial system and institutions. We have assimilated legal cultures of all civilisations who have come to our shores,” Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said during the conference.
“Constitution has created a strong and independent judiciary, we have strived to keep this basic feature intact,” Chief Justice Bobde added.
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who was also present at the conference, said, “Terrorists and corrupts have no right to privacy. This is a time for global challenges. How do we seek resolution? It remains an important question.”
“I am clear that the only answer is to fall back on conventional regulatory mechanism of being governed by the rule of law. Governance must be left for those who are elected representatives,” he added.
Chief Justice of Australia was also present at the event.