Atrocities against women grave concern: PM bats for swift justice
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 31
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the need for quicker decisions by the judiciary in cases related to atrocities against women, saying it would give greater assurance of safety to half the population.
His remarks came against the backdrop of the rape and murder of a Kolkata doctor and sexual assault on two minors in Maharashtra’s Thane.
Inaugurating a two-day national conference of district judiciary, the PM expressed serious concern over the “burning issue” of women and children and called for activating the judicial mechanisms under the special fast-track court system to ensure speedy justice in such cases.
“There are several strict laws for women’s safety. In 2019, the government had planned to establish fast-track special courts. There is a provision for a deposition centre for important witnesses under it. The district monitoring committee under fast-track special courts can also play an important role… It consists of a district judge, district magistrate and a superintendent of police, who can play an important role in creating coordination with regard to various aspects of the criminal justice system.
“There’s need to make these committees more active. The quicker the decisions in cases related to atrocities against women, the greater will be the assurance of safety to half the population,” Modi said in the presence of CJI DY Chandrachud, other Supreme Court judges, high court chief justices and district court judges, besides others.
Pointing to the pendency of about 4.5 crore cases in the district courts, the PM called for moving towards “future ready” courts with the help of a unified platform incorporating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and optical character recognition. “Such platforms would help analyse pending cases and predict future cases as well... It would integrate and speed up the work of various departments like police, forensics, jails and courts,” he said.
The PM also unveiled a stamp and a coin commemorating 75 years of the establishment of the Supreme Court. “The Supreme Court of India’s journey of 75 years does not merely relate to one institution. It is also a journey of India’s Constitution, its values and the journey of India evolving as a democracy… People of India have never shown disbelief towards the Supreme Court or the judiciary,” Modi said.
Terming it an occasion of pride and inspiration, he congratulated the judicial fraternity and the citizens of India and conveyed his best wishes to those participating in the conference.
The PM said the district judiciary was the first point of contact for the common man seeking justice and therefore, it was of utmost priority that the first centres of justice should be capable and modern in every way.
He said India spent about Rs 8,000 crore on the development of judicial infrastructure. “In the past 10 years, more than 7,500 court halls and 11,000 residential units have been prepared for the district judiciary,” he added.
Organised as part of the 75th year celebrations of the Supreme Court, this the first conference which is seeing the participation of 800 district judges from across the country.
