Greatest challenge before judiciary is to eliminate barriers to accessing justice: CJI Chandrachud

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud on Tuesday said the greatest challenge before the Indian judiciary is to eliminate the barriers to accessing justice and make sure that judiciary is inclusive and accessible to the last person in the line. He also said that there is a need to overhaul the infrastructure on a priority basis to make courts accessible and inclusive.

Speaking at the Independence Day celebrations organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) at the apex court lawns, the CJI said the aim is to create a judicial system which is more accessible and cost-effective for the people and that full potential of technology has to be tapped to overcome the procedural barriers to justice. While referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at the Red Fort, Justice Chandrachud said the PM mentioned about the apex court's efforts to translate judgements in Indian languages.

The CJI said up to now, 9,423 judgements of the top court have been translated in regional languages. Besides the CJI, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, other judges of the apex court, Attorney General R Venkataramani, SCBA office bearers, including its president and senior advocate Adish C Aggarwala and secretary Rohit Pandey, were present during the programme.

During his address, the CJI said over 19,000 cases have been disposed by the top court between March and June this year. «As I look to the future, I believe the greatest challenge before the Indian judiciary is to eliminate the barriers to accessing justice,» he said.