The use of English in higher judiciary and the cost of litigation are among the hindrances that people face in getting equal access to justice, President Droupadi Murmu said on Tuesday and asserted that providing legal aid to people in need is the cornerstone of a modern state.
Ms. Murmu, while addressing the valedictory session of the first regional conference on “Ensuring Access to Quality Legal Aid for the Vulnerable: Challenges and Opportunities in the Global South, said equality is not only the foundation but also necessary condition for justice.
“Access to justice for all has been a theme close to my heart,” she said, adding, “”It has been long since the world proclaimed that all human beings are equal, but we need to ask ourselves if we all have equal access to justice.
Ms. Murmu said in practice, people are often unable to seek redressal of their grievances because of several factors. “Our principal task is to remove those obstacles. The chief obstacle, of course, is often the cost of justice,” she said.
Mentioning steps taken to provide access to economically weaker sections through the Directive Principles of State Policy and mechanisms like the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), the President said the aim has been to advance ‘ease of justice’.
“But I feel that there is a need to launch an awareness campaign among people not only to make them conscious of their rights, but also to help them get legal assistance, if such a need arises,” Ms. Murmu said.
Elaborating on other hurdles in providing access, she said, “In India, for example, the language of the higher judiciary is English, which makes it difficult for a large section of society to understand the judicial processes”.
“However, the Supreme Court of India has started publishing verdicts in various regional languages on its website. Legal aid institutions also help in bridging the language divide,” she added.
Ms. Murmu also lauded the use of technology and said it holds great promise in making access to legal aid more democratic.
The two-day lomng conference was organised NALSA together with the International Legal Foundation (ILF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, several Supreme Court judges and other dignitaries attended the event.
