Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged the legal service authorities to provide legal assistance and enable early release of undertrial prisoners languishing in jails across the country.
Addressing the All India District Legal Services Authorities Meet here, the Prime Minister highlighted the plight of undertrial prisoners who lack legal assistance and urged district judges to use their position at the district level undertrial review committees to speed up the release of such persons from jails.
"I hope it will be a success by taking help of legal aid," said Modi in a function attended by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Supreme Court judges Justices UU Lalit and DY Chandrachud and Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.
Modi also said that ease of justice was as important as ease of doing business and ease of living. The Prime Minister noted that the National Legal Services Authority has started a campaign in this matter and urged the Bar Council of India to align more lawyers with this effort.
He said that Article 39A which lays down State's duty to promote free legal aid. "Article 39A of the Constitution gives importance to access to justice. This trust of law and justice ensures citizens that their rights are being safeguarded by the courts," he said.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the initiatives by the Government in improving judicial infrastructure and increased use of technology in the legal system to help people and fastening delivery of justice.
"We have worked relentlessly to improve the judicial infrastructure over the last 8 years and about 9,000 crores have been spent to bolster judicial infrastructure," he said, adding the prominence of E-courts project and the video conference hearings during the pandemic years.
"E-court mission has led to virtual courts being set up. There is also video conferencing facility in the courts. I am told 1 crore cases have been heard digitally in district courts and over 60 lakh cases were heard virtually in High Court and Supreme Court," the Prime Minister said.
