Supreme Court Judge Suryakant on Wednesday said that it is very important to bridge the gap between the privileged people and the weakest sections in the case of access to justice. He called it important for the strength of Indian democracy.
“Legal Assistance Constitutional Oxygen of Democracy”
Addressing a lecture organized on the subject of “Justice – Legal Aid and Mediations: Bar and Peeth” said that legal aid is not just “legal donation”, but “constitutional oxygen” required for the survival of democracy. “
Access to justice should not be a privilege of prosperity
He said, “The most that bothers me the most is a contradiction that we have unknowingly created, access to justice in the world’s largest democracy remained the privilege of a long rich class. When the legal fees are more than the monthly income of the common citizen, when literacy is required to understand the processes of the court and there is no literacy among the millions, when the corridors of the courts start scaring the place of reception, we are interacting with a harsh truth.
“The doors of the temple of justice have become very narrow”
The judge of the apex court said that we have built temples of justice, but their doors are becoming narrower for the same people whose courts were built for their service. He said, “The scales of justice cannot be balanced until only one party will get an opportunity to make complaints.”
Example of recent hearing in Supreme Court
Justice Suryakant also mentioned a recent hearing in his court. He said that many senior advocates appeared in that case and they wanted the petition to be heard directly in the Supreme Court. He said, “I told him that will we keep the door of the Supreme Court open only for selected litigants and select lawyers?” The temple of justice is for those who do not even have access to justice. We have to maintain balance in justice, whether the person’s profession is anything or his social status. ”
“The law should reach every language and every village”
Justice Suryakant, who is also the executive chairman of Nalsa (National Legal Services Authority), said that the law should speak every language, every village should teach and answer every call of justice. He insisted that if democracy is to be kept alive, then justice should reach every person equally.