PM Modi flagged off four Vande Bharat Express trains from Varanasi. The new services will link Varanasi-Khajuraho, Firozpur-Delhi, Lucknow-Saharanpur, and Ernakulam-Bengaluru
NEW DELHI: PM Modi on Saturday said that ease of getting justice or universal accessibility to the justice delivery system plays a significant role in optimising ease of doing business and ease of living of citizens and that use of technology with a pro-people focus can serve as a force multiplier in this process. Addressing a gathering of constitutional court judges and lawyers at Supreme Court Annexe on Legal Services Day, Modi said that in the last 11 years the govt has focussed on ease of doing business by removing over 40,000 compliances, doing away with 3,400 legal provisions and repealing over 1,500 archaic laws, coupled with revisiting the archaic penal laws. “Ease of doing business and ease of living is possible only when ease of justice is ensured,” he said, adding that in the last three decades National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has played a vital role in linking commoners to the justice delivery system. Referring to speeches of CJI B R Gavai and CJI-designate Surya Kant on NALSA’s efforts to prevent and settle lakhs of disputes through mediation in last three years, the PM said ‘community mediation’ is an ancient Indian practice that creates harmony and reduces litigation. Highlighting the importance of technology, Modi said, “Technology can be disruptive. But with pro-people focus, it can be a democratic force. ” For instance, UPI has revolutionised digital payments. “Villages are being linked with optical fibres. One lakh mobile towers are being erected.” Legal professionals, judges and judicial officers must come together to chalk out a plan of action to make the justice delivery system advanced and accessible so that it is in sync with the goal of a developed India by 2047, he said, adding govt has sanctioned over Rs 7,000 crore for the judiciary’s technological upgrade. The marginalised will not get justice until they are made aware of their rights. HCs and district courts must follow SC initiative to translate judgments into 18 different languages. “The language of justice must be understood by the litigants. Only then will there be increased compliance and less litigation,” Modi said. CJI Gavai said NALSA has given rise to hope among the hopeless, marginalised and exploited class of citizens that someone will stand up for them somewhere for protection of their rights. “The system should not be reactive but proactive to prevent abuse of rights,” he said. NALSA executive chairman and CJI-designate Kant said, “The true measure of a justice system is not how swiftly it decides complex cases, but how deeply it touches the lives of ordinary citizens.” While echoing the importance given by PM to the role of technology, Justice Kant said, “Technology does offer real opportunities like online conciliations and digital complaint portals, but technology alone will not suffice. It must be guided by local knowledge, linguistic accessibility and human empathy.”