SC has acted as 'people's court', kept citizens' faith intact: CJI

New Delhi, November 26

Asserting that the Supreme Court has acted as the “people’s court”, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Sunday said citizens should not be afraid of approaching courts or view it as the last resort for redressal of their grievances.

Don’t be afraid of moving court

Individuals should not be afraid of going to courts or view it as the last resort. Rather it is my hope that by our efforts, citizens of every class, caste and creed can repose trust in our court system and view it as a fair and effective forum to enforce the rights. — DY Chandrachud, Chief Justice of India

“In the last seven decades, the Supreme Court of India has acted as a people’s court. Thousands of citizens have approached it with the faith that they will get justice through this institution,” the CJI said at a Constitution Day function organised by the Supreme Court.

“Individuals should not be afraid of going to courts or view it as the last resort. Rather it is my hope that by our efforts, citizens of every class, caste and creed can repose trust in our court system and view it as a fair and effective forum to enforce the rights,” Justice Chandrachud said.

He emphasised that the Indian Supreme Court was perhaps the only court in the world where a citizen can set in motion the constitutional machinery by simply writing a letter to the CJI.

CJI Chandrachud said citizens moved courts to seek protection of their personal liberty, accountability against unlawful arrests, protection of rights of bonded labourers, tribals seeking protection of their homelands, prevention of social evils such as manual scavenging and even hoping for intervention to get clean air.

“These cases are not just citations or statistics for the court. These cases resemble the expectations of people from the Supreme Court as well as the court’s own commitment to deliver justice to the citizens,” he said.

Just as the Constitution allows us to resolve political differences through established democratic institutions and processes, the courts system helps in resolving many disagreements through established principles and processes, the CJI said.

“In this way, every case in every court in the country is an extension of constitutional governance,” he said in the presence of President Droupadi Murmu, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Supreme Court judges and lawyers.

Recalling that the President had on the Constitution day last year expressed concern over overcrowding of jails and incarceration of citizens from marginalised sections, the CJI said, “I want to assure

you (President) that we are constantly working to ensure that legal processes become easier and simplified so that citizens don’t languish in jails unnecessarily.” He announced the launch of a portal, FASTER 2.0, to ensure that judicial orders for the release of prisoners are promptly communicated to the jail authorities so that such prisoners are released without undue delay.