1.
I am
delighted to join this distinguished gathering of judges, legal luminaries,
members of the Bar and other dignitaries for the inauguration of the
sesquicentennial celebrations of the Allahabad High Court.
2.
This
High Court will complete 150 years of its existence on 17, March 2016. The
High Court building will also complete 100 years of its existence in November
2016. There is thus a dual purpose to these celebrations in what is one of the
largest temples of justice not just in India but the entire world.
3.
The
Allahabad High Court was established by Royal Charter as the High Court of
Judicature for the North Western Province on 17 March 1866 and initially had a
seat at Agra. The High Court shifted to Allahabad in 1869.
4.
This
High Court, over the years, has earned fame as an institution of high standards
with strong traditions and ideals. It’s Bench, as well as Bar, have been known
for its intellectual erudition and legal acumen.
5.
Members
of its Bar played an important role in the freedom struggle and include
illustrious personalities such as Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, Pandit Motilal
Nehru, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Purushottam Das Tandon and Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru. The famous 'Chauri Chaura' and 'Meerut conspiracy' case are few cases
wherein this Court delivered memorable judgments upholding the concept of
liberty.
6.
Today,
the Allahabad High Court has jurisdiction over the largest state in India,
covering nearly one-sixth of our total population. Having started functioning
with six judges, it now has a sanctioned strength of 160 Judges, making it the
biggest in the country. The Bar of the High Court in 1866 consisted of 6
Advocates. Its strength today is about 15,000 as per the rolls maintained by
the Registry of the High Court. The rich jurisprudence emerging from this Court
has benefited not just the people of Uttar Pradesh but the country at large.
7.
Five
judges of the High Court at Allahabad have adorned the office of Chief Justice
of India, namely, Sarvashri K N Wanchoo, Mirza Hameedullah Beg, Raghunandan
Swarup Pathak, Kamal Narain Singh and Visheshwar Nath Khare. I am happy to
know that my distinguished predecessor, Dr. Rajendra Prasad opened the new wing
of the High Court in 1954. President Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan attended the
centenary celebrations and President R. Venkataraman attended the 125th
year celebrations.
Friends,
ladies and gentlemen,
8.
The
judiciary in India has played an important role since independence in
strengthening the democratic framework of the country and maintaining rule of
law. High Courts in particular have a unique position under the Constitution
of India. They are not only guardians of people’s rights and liberty, they
also have the onerous responsibility of ensuring that access to justice is not
denied to any citizen on account of economic or other disability.
9.
Judiciary,
which is one of the three important pillars of our democracy, is the final
interpreter of the Constitution and laws. It must help maintain social order by
swiftly and effectively dealing with those on the wrong side of the law. As an
upholder of the Rule of Law and enforcer of the right to liberty, the role of
the Judiciary is sacrosanct. The faith and confidence people have in the
Judiciary must be always maintained. For justice to have meaning for the
people, it must be accessible, affordable and quick. Though the Indian
judiciary has many strengths, it is yet to fully meet the aspirations of our
people for speedy and affordable justice.
10.
Our
Courts are today overburdened on account of the large number of cases pending
before them. There are over three crore cases pending in various courts
throughout the country. Out of these about 38.5 lakh cases are pending in
24 High Courts. The pendency of cases in the High Courts has slightly
declined from 41.5 lakh in 2014 to 38.5 lakh in 2015, but we still have a long
way to go. Overall, out of a sanctioned strength of 1056 judges in all
the High Courts, the working strength of High Court judges throughout the
country as on 1st March, 2016 was only 591. Similarly, the
sanctioned strength of judicial officers in district and subordinate courts in
the country is about 20,500 out of which the working strength is only about
16,000 at present.
11.
The High Court at Allahabad today has only 71 Judges including the
Chief Justice, against the sanctioned strength of 160 Judges. Approximately,
9,11,908 cases are pending in this Court as of February 2016, a decline from
10.1 lakh cases in 2014. The pendency in subordinate courts of Uttar Pradesh
is approximately 57,06,103 as on 29.02.2016. More than 42,17,089 (as on 29.02.2016) of them are criminal cases.
12.
Justice delayed is justice denied. I am sure that the Central
Government and the State Government will extend all support to
the Allahabad High Court in its endeavour to reduce pendencies. The
Governments, Judges and lawyers must work hand in hand to make justice a living
reality.
13.
Increasing
the number of courts and judges and judicial officers at all levels is the
first step towards achieving the objective of timely delivery of justice. The
government and the judiciary are collectively addressing this issue through an
ongoing increase in the sanctioned strength of judges both at the level of the
High Courts as well as District and Subordinate Courts. These sanctioned posts
need to be filled quickly so that requisite judicial manpower is available for timely
disposal of cases.
14.
Along
with increasing the strength of judges, development of judicial infrastructure
is a priority area. I am glad that Central Government has initiated a centrally
sponsored scheme for infrastructure development and sanctioned Rs. 3694 crores
to States/ Union Territories in the last five years, which combined with
resources from the States is creating new court complexes and residential
buildings for judicial officers across the country.
15.
It is
imperative that we speed up adoption of information and communication
technology in the judicial system. The process of computerisation of district
and subordinate courts is underway through the eCourts Integrated Mission Mode
project of the Central Government. Most of the courts have already been
computerised pursuant to this initiative and I eagerly look forward to the day
when all courts in the country will be integrated with the National Judicial
Data Grid. I am particularly happy that a Centre for Information
Technology has been established in the Allahabad High Court and approximately
one crore decided case files running into 50 crore pages are to be digitized within one year.
16.
In the
past few decades, we have seen an exponential increase in the number of cases
being filed before courts. The Government is strongly committed to simplifying
legal procedures, weeding out contradictory and redundant laws and
significantly reducing the number of cases in which the Government is a
litigant. The Government is also working towards adoption of a National
Litigation Policy that will be geared towards avoiding unnecessary Government
litigation.
17.
Another
way to reduce the number of cases before courts is through the widespread
adoption of alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms that allow for quick and effective
settlement of disputes. Right incentives must be provided to courts to support
the use of ADR and at the same time, litigants should be made aware of the
benefits of using ADR mechanisms and motivated to use the same. Mediation, in
particular is an extremely effective tool for resolution of disputes such as
matrimonial and property matters.
18.
Further, there must be adequate provision for free legal aid.
Greater efforts are also needed to spread legal literacy across the nation and
improve the quality of legal education.
Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen,
19.
As you
are aware, the Government has launched the ‘Make in India’ campaign to turn our
country into a manufacturing hub. To make this programme a success, we need to
improve the ease of doing business in our country. Enforcement of contracts is
a key yardstick in measuring the ease of doing business. The Government and
judiciary must work in tandem to reduce costs and time taken for dispute
resolution.
20.
Over
the past few years, a number of legislative changes have been introduced in
procedural laws governing civil and criminal trials. These include measures to
ensure that trials proceeds on a day to day basis, limiting of unnecessary
adjournments, imposition of costs for causing intentional delays and
integration of information and communication technology in court processes.
Section 436A has been added to the Code of Criminal Procedure to provide for
release of under trial prisoners who have undergone half of the maximum period
of imprisonment for the stated offence. All these changes will contribute to
preventing delays in the delivery of justice.
Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
21.
Lawyers
play an extremely important role in enabling the public access justice. The
legal profession is regarded a noble profession in every society where the rule
of law prevails. In India, a large number of our national leaders have been
lawyers. Advocates are a vital pillar in
the scheme of our constitutional governance and judicial process. They are
bestowed with the responsibility to advocate citizens’ rights and maintain the
integrity and independence of the legal system. Advocates must zealously
fulfil this professional responsibility.
22.
Let me
conclude by congratulating the Allahabad High Court for its glorious
contributions over one and a half century. I am confident the High Court will
continue to uphold the basic values of equality, liberty and justice enshrined
in our Constitution and safeguard the freedom and fundamental rights of our
people so that they realize their full potential as worthy citizens of this
great nation.
Thank you.
Jai Hind.
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AKT/AK