Plans to shift Tihar to city’s outskirts: CM Rekha

The Delhi Government is working on plans to shift Tihar Jail to the outskirts of the national capital and expand court infrastructure to improve access to justice, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Friday.

While addressing the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), Gupta said “ease of living cannot be achieved unless ease of justice is fulfilled.”

She highlighted that after the Modi government came to power, hundreds of obsolete laws were repealed and nearly 1,500 laws were removed to simplify the legal framework.

Emphasising infrastructure development, she said the Delhi Government is working to build additional court blocks and courtrooms, strengthen fast-track courts and shift Tihar Jail outside the city to reduce pressure on urban infrastructure.

Congratulating SILF on completing 25 years, the Chief Minister recalled the role of late Arun Jaitley in guiding the organisation at its inception and noted that it has emerged as a strong institutional platform for the legal profession across sectors.

SILF president Dr Lalit Bhasin said the organisation has completed a new building on Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg with two dedicated facilities one for online arbitration spread across two floors to reduce arbitration costs, and another for mediation and settlement of disputes.

He said the mediation facility has been conceptualised as a pro bono initiative, offering free, non-litigation advisory services to help people understand the benefits of settlement over prolonged litigation.

“Mediation is ultimately the answer to the growing burden of cases,” Dr Bhasin said, adding that creating awareness about dispute resolution through settlement is part of the legal profession’s social responsibility.