Current Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has been winning praise for the speedy work and also bringing the most genuine issues to public attention. On September 18, CJI Ramana called for Indianisation of the country’s legal system citing the reason that colonial rules which are currently followed may not be best suited to the needs of the Indian population.
CJI called for Indianisation of the legal system during an event organised by Karnataka State Bar Council to honor late Supreme Court Justice Mohan Mallikarjunagouda Shantanagoudar who passed away in April of this year.
“Very often our justice delivery poses multiple barriers for the common people. The working and the style of courts do not sit well with the complexities of India. Our systems practise rules being colonial in origin may not be best suited to the needs of Indian population. The need of the hour is the Indianisation of our legal system,” CJI said.
“When I say Indianisation, I mean the need to adapt to the practical realities of our society and localise our justice delivery systems. For example, parties from a rural place fighting a family dispute are usually made to feel out of place in the court. They do not understand the arguments or pleadings which are mostly in English, a language alien to them. These days, judgments have become lengthy, which further complicates the position of litigants. For the parties to understand the implications of a judgment, they are forced to spend more money,” added CJI Ramana.
“The simplification of justice delivery should be our pressing concern. It is crucial to make justice delivery more transparent, accessible and effective. Procedural barriers often undermine access to justice. The common man should not be apprehensive about approaching the courts and authorities. While approaching the court, he should not feel scared of the judges and the court. He should be able to speak the truth,” he said.
CJI underlined the significance of keeping the courts litigant centric as they are the ultimate beneficiaries.
He further added, “It is the duty of lawyers and judges to create an environment that is comforting for the litigants and other stakeholders. We must not forget that the focal point of any justice delivery system is ‘the litigant-the justice seeker’ in this light, usage of alternate dispute mechanism such as mediation and conciliation would go a long way in reducing the friction between parties and would save resources. This also reduces the pendency and requirement for having lengthy arguments with lengthy judgments.”
