New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India, N V Ramana on Saturday raised concerns over the judicial infrastructure at an event where Union Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju was also present. Ramana urged the law minister to make sure that the proposal to set up a National Judicial Infrastructure Authority is taken up in the winter session of parliament. “Judicial infrastructure for courts in India has always been an afterthought. It is because of this mindset that courts in India still operate with dilapidated structures, making it difficult to perform effectively,” the CJI was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Also Read - Supreme Court to Allow Journalists Inside Courtrooms in Physical Proceedings
“Only 5 per cent of the court complexes have basic medical aid and 26 per cent do not have separate toilets for women. 16 per cent of the courts do not even have toilets for men, he said. He further added that nearly 50 per cent of the court complexes do not have a library while 46 per cent do not have the facility to purify water. I have sent the proposal to the Law Minister. I am hoping for a positive response soon and that the minister will expedite the process”, Ramana added. Also Read - There Are Federations Who Are Not Allowing Athletes to Grow: Kiren Rijiju
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The event was held to mark the inauguration of Annexe building of Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court and was also attended by Chief Minister of Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray. “Without adequate infrastructure for courts, we cannot aspire to fill this gap. The infrastructure of courts is important for improving access to justice and to meet the growing demands of the public. It’s baffling to note that the improvement and maintenance of judicial infrastructure is still being carried out in an ad-hoc and unplanned manner. The financial autonomy of the Judiciary is integral,” the CJI further said.
Law minister Kiren Rijiju assured that judiciary isn’t only being given full support but also they’re being given space to become robust. To make our democracy successful, a robust judiciary is of utmost important, he observed. Rijiju also said that he would be visiting Jammu and Kashmir to see the legal procedure over there. “I am going to Jammu and Kashmir on 29th October to understand and oversee how legal aid is being made available to those in the border areas,” he said.