Citizens should not be afraid of approaching courts: CJI Chandrachud
Supreme Court has acted as a «people's court» and citizens should not be afraid of going to courts or view it as the last resort, Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said on Sunday. Justice Chandrachud said just as the Constitution allows us to resolve political differences through established democratic institutions and processes, the courts system helps in resolving many disagreements through established principles and processes.
«In this way, every case in every court in the country is an extension of constitutional governance,» the CJI said while speaking at the inauguration of the Constitution Day celebrations at the apex court.
President Droupadi Murmu delivered the inaugural address at the programme, which was also attended by apex court judges Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and others.
In his address, the CJI said, «In the last seven decades, the Supreme Court of India has acted as a people's court. Thousands of citizens have approached its doors with the faith that they will get justice through this institution».
He said citizens come to court to seek protection of their personal liberty, accountability against unlawful arrests, protection of rights of bonded labourers, tribals seeking protection of their homelands, prevention of social evils such as manual scavenging and even hoping for interference to get clean air.
«These cases are not just citation or statistics for the court.
These cases resemble the expectations of people from the Supreme Court as well as the court's own commitment to deliver justice to the citizens,» Justice Chandrachud said.
He said the apex court was perhaps the only court in the world where any citizen can set in
