Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on March 9 laid emphasis on the constitutional values of liberty, equality and fraternity for ensuring the nation’s unity and progress, and said the Constitution’s learning should reach the villages across the country. “Our Constitution has its place from the court’s corridors to the [remote] villages. It is not limited to books alone,” the CJI said.
Justice Chandrachud inaugurated a regional ‘Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman’ (Our Constitution, Our Honour) campaign at Maharaja Ganga Singh University’s auditorium in Bikaner to enhance awareness about the Indian Constitution and the citizens’ rights and duties, and the commemorate 75th year of India as a republic. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court M.M. Shrivastava were among those present.
Chief Justice Chandrachud said the basic rights, such as daily wages, pension, clean water, ration, healthcare and education, flowed from the Constitution, which had met the challenges of the country’s diverse society and given dignity to the people. Mutual fraternity was necessary to maintain equality in the country, he added.
The CJI quoted B.R. Ambedkar’s speech in the Constituent Assembly, pointing out that the Constitution was not a mere lawyers’ document, but was a vehicle of life, and its spirit was always the spirit of age. “The Constitution reflects our collective aspirations… We are committed to the rule of law and protection of human rights because of the Constitution,” he said.
Referring to the technological advancements being applied to judicial institutions, Justice Chandrachud said that while the Supreme Court had started hearing cases through video-conferencing, the potential of technology was being utilised to spread legal awareness and strengthen legal services as well. A lawyer sitting in any part of the country could argue his case in the courts situated elsewhere, he said.
The CJI said judgments were being translated through technology and an attempt was being made to make them available in more regional languages. If judges wrote the judgments in a simple language, they could reach the common people, he said, adding that efforts were being made to improve the working conditions in the trial courts as well.
“The Supreme Court has worked to enhance its capacity through technology. The district courts are also being sensitised, as they constitute the first step towards justice. We are making efforts to improve the infrastructure of district courts to suit the modern age. ₹7,000 crore were allocated in the 2023-24 Union Budget for third phase of the e-courts project,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The CJI also highlighted the contribution of Bikaner in the making of the Constitution, saying the erstwhile Prime Minister of the Bikaner princely state Jaswant Singh Tanwar was one of the 284 members of the Constituent Assembly. Besides, Bikaner ruler Maharaja Ganga Singh was selected as the first Chancellor of the Chamber of Princes in 1921.
A ‘Nyaya Sahayak’ (justice assistant) programme was launched during the event for 500 aspirational blocks in the country, where community-based messengers will generate door-to-door awareness on legal services and solutions of the Department of Justice. The CJI called upon the law students to join the programme and help out the public at large.
Bikaner is the Lok Sabha constituency of Mr. Meghwal. A Rajasthan State booklet highlighting important schemes of the Law and Justice Ministry and a tele-law programme was also released on the occasion.
