CJI Chandrachud stresses infrastructural audits of courts at district level to foster inclusivity

New Delhi [India], September 1 : Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud called for a transformative overhaul and stressed conducting infrastructural audits of courts at the district level to foster an inclusive and efficient judicial system.
During an address at the two-day National Conference of District Judiciary held at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi on Sunday, the CJI emphasized the need for modernized facilities and practices in order to increase accessibility.
"We must, without any question, change the fact that only 6.7 per cent of our court infrastructure at the district level is female-friendly. Is this acceptable today in a nation where, at the basic level of recruitment in some states, over 60 or 70 per cent of the recruits are women? Our focus areas are on increasing accessibility measures, which can be understood by carrying out infrastructural audits. Opening in-court medical facilities, creches and technological projects like e-seva Kendras and video conferencing devices. These endeavours aim to increase access to justice," the CJI said.
CJI Chandrachud further called for a safe and accommodating environment for all sections of society and emphasized the need to confront the biases faced by vulnerable groups at the bar and the bench.
"Axiomatically, we must also ensure that our courts provide a safe and accommodating environment for all members of our society, particularly for groups such as women and other vulnerable groups such as persons with disability, members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and people across the socio-economic landscape. With the increasing number of women coming into the judiciary, we must also confront the biases which we may unwittingly have towards our colleagues at the bar and the bench," he said.
CJI Chandrachud highlighted the action plan formulated by the Committee on Reducing Arrears of Cases as he addressed the issue of case pendency. The CJI emphasized the importance of intricate coordination and data management in executing these strategies effectively.
"The three stages of the action plan include first, the preparatory stage of forming district-level case management committees to identify target cases, undated cases and reconstruction of records. The second stage, which is ongoing, aims to resolve cases which have been pending before the courts for 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 years and more than 30 years. Third, from January to June 2025, the judiciary shall execute the third phase of clearing the backlogs of cases pending for over a decade in courts. This effort requires an intricate coordination of various applications and data management systems to plan and track our strategies. Some of the other strategies for dealing with the backlog include pre-litigation dispute resolution," the CJI said.
The CJI also underscored the success of the Supreme Court's first-ever National Lok Adalat, where nearly 1,000 cases were resolved amicably in just five working days. During the conference, CJI Chandrachud pushed for a standardized recruitment process that transcends regional and state-specific biases, promoting national integration and ensuring a more equitable selection of judges.
"To fill the vacancies, the conference deliberated upon the criteria for selection of judges and standardizing the recruitment calendars for all vacancies. The time has really come now to truly think of national integration by having a recruitment to the judicial service which crosses the narrow domestic walls of regionalism and state-centered selections," he said.
The CJI reaffirmed the Constitution's foundational principles of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, which continue to guide the judicial system's evolution. "Over 75 years ago, the axis of the Earth aligned itself a little more closely with the axis of justice India, one fifth of the human race, gave itself a democratic and republican constitution. The Constitution, which promised to digress from the path of a hierarchical and discriminatory society governed by colonial operation. A Constitution which would modernize the country and champion social justice through a democratic and peaceful process. The Constitution premised on the timeless principles of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Our Constitution was an amalgam of the experiential and the aspiration of stability and change," he added.
CJI Chandrachud reiterated that justice delivery is a critical service, particularly for the most vulnerable citizens. He lauded the past decade's efforts to modernize the judiciary, focusing on creating tech-savvy, accessible court environments with improved facilities and services.
"Justice delivery is an essential service which we provide to our citizens, especially the most vulnerable. Efforts in the past decade have modernized our judiciary, aiming for a tech savvy and accessible infrastructure such as trained personnel, spacious court complexes, facilitation centers, E seva kendras, medical facilities and creche," he said.