Cutting barriers to justice a key task for courts: CJI

The Supreme Court has been the "vanguard of institutional governance by enhancing access to justice and promoting constitutional values", Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Tuesday, adding that functionality of courts is determined by how effectively they can answer the call of constitutional duty.

- Utkarsh Anand

Speaking at an event organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) to celebrate Independence Day, the first judge of the country underscored the role of the apex court in providing "a safe democratic space for individuals to seek protection of their rights and liberties" and listed the challenges that lie ahead of the judiciary. The greatest one, Justice Chandrachud emphasised, is eliminating the barriers to accessing justice.

With Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in attendance, the CJI said that the past 76 years suggest that the history of the Indian judiciary has been the history of the daily life struggles of the Indian people. "If our history teaches us anything, it is this that no matter is big or small for the courts. It is in the routinely small matters that issues of grave constitutional and jurisprudential importance emerge. Resolution of every legal grievance is important. In attending to such grievances, the courts are merely performing their plain constitutional duty," he said.

Courts in independent India, justice Chandrachud said, have ensured that the law exudes human interest and responds positively to the plight of every individual in our society-regardless of their social and economic background. "The functionality of courts is determined by how effectively they can answer the call of constitutional duty."