New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that ease of justice is equally important as ease of doing business and ease of living. Mr. Modi said, National Legal Service Authority and District Legal Services Authorities can play a great role in the speedy justice delivery system.
The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating the first All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet in New Delhi today. He said, justice delivery is equally important as access to the judicial system for any society and in this direction, judicial infrastructure plays an important role. Mr Narendra Modi said that in the last eight years, work has been done at a faster pace to strengthen the judicial infrastructure of the country.
Underlining India’s leadership in information technology and Fintech, the Prime Minister stressed that there can not be a better time to introduce more power of technology to judicial proceedings. He said under the e-Courts Mission, virtual courts are being started in the country. 24-hour courts have started functioning for crimes like traffic violations.
He said, video conferencing infrastructure is also being expanded in the courts for the convenience of the people. The Prime Minister said that more than one crore cases have been heard through video conferencing in the country. This proves that our judicial system is committed to the ancient Indian values of justice and, at the same time, is ready to match the realities of the 21st century.
Reiterating that Amrit Kaal is a period of duty, the Prime Minister said we have to work on the areas that have remained neglected so far. Mr Narendra Modi once again raised the issue of sensitivity towards undertrial prisoners and said that the District Legal Services Authorities can take up the responsibility of providing legal aid to such prisoners. He also appealed to the District Judges, as Chairpersons of undertrial review committees, to expedite the release of undertrial prisoners.
Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said that strengthening the district’s judiciary is the need of the hour. He said, it is a driving force behind the legal aid movement in the country. He stressed the need to the usage of modern information tool to enhance the pace of justice delivery. He said, NALSA is actively collaborating with all stakeholders in securing much-deserved relief for under trials.
Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that National Legal Services Authority has launched a campaign ‘Release Under Trial Review Committee @75’ from 16th of this month for identifying eligible prisoners and recommending the release of fit cases to Under Trial Review Committee. He said, the review committee will meet every week to deliberate on this issue. He said, there is a target to release the maximum number of eligible prisoners.
There are a total 676 District Legal Services Authorities in the country. They are headed by the District Judge who acts as Chairman of the authority. Through DLSAs and State Legal Services Authorities, various legal aid and awareness programmes are implemented by National Legal Services Authority. The DLSAs also contribute towards reducing the burden on courts by regulating the Lok Adalats conducted by National Legal Service Authority
