Kiren Rijiju, the Union Law Minister, has confirmed that the recommendations made by the Supreme Court collegium regarding the appointment of the judges in the high courts will soon be cleared. The collegium has recommended more than 106 judges to the High Courts and also 9 Chief Justices to various High Courts, CJI NV Ramana said on Saturday at the launch of a six-week long program titled Pan India Legal Awareness and Outreach Campaign, which is organized by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA).
“The government has already cleared some of the names and the Law Minister has informed me that the remainder will come in a day or two. I thank the central government for the clearance of these vacancies and speedy access to justice,” the CJI said. He further added that these appointments will help tackle pendency to some extent.
The CJI also pointed out that COVID-19 created a lot of problems in various institutions and the judiciary was also one of them.”Thousands of cases have piled up in various forums, apart from non working of courts, large vacancies and the lack of proper virtual conferencing in rural areas. The pandemic has revealed some very serious and deep-rooted problems,” he said.
“If the vulnerable sections are unable to enforce their rights, then the promise and assurance of equitable justice cannot be achieved. Equality and access to justice are intertwined. People should feel that law and institution is not exclusive but is for everyone. In a democratic country, it is the trust of people and faith that strengthens the institution, and we must earn that faith. Equality of democracy rests upon the equality of justice, “said the CJI while stressing on the importance of ensuring access to justice for everyone, including those in the vulnerable sections.
In this regard, the CJI highlighted the importance of the program presented by NALSA and said-“NALSA is beginning the six-week program today which ends on the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The aim should be ‘if the poor and needy can’t reach us we will reach them’,” he said. To achieve this, all the three organs of the government must work together to strengthen the democracy, he stressed.
“I want the government’s support and cooperation to facilitate access to justice and to strengthen democracy,” the CJI said.
