Inaugurating a newly-constructed building of the Odisha Judicial Academy along with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here on Saturday, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam called upon the judicial officers not just to uphold the rule of law but also to ensure that justice is delivered in time so that the people do not lose faith in the judiciary.
Underlining his commitment for enhancing judicial productivity, the CJI called for creating a vibrant subordinate judiciary in the country so as to win the trust and confidence of the people. Justice Sathasivam said even though he has a tenure of only ten months as the CJI, he is determined to clear maximum backlog of pending cases during this period.
“For this, I have already written three letters to the Chief Justices of all High Courts for speedy recommendation of names to fill up vacancies in their respective courts,” he said, adding that the Supreme Court is taking effective steps for appointment of judges after fixing a time limit for it. He also suggested all judicial officers to identify the cases which are pending for long and dispose them of fairly, earnestly and effectively on priority basis. He was also of the opinion to open more and more courts to deal exclusively different subjects and stressed on opening of holiday and evening courts so that the people seeking justice do not suffer.
Emphasising the need of full-fledged Judicial Academies in the country, the CJI said these institutions create support structures for upgrading justice delivery system by imparting training to judicial officers and magistrates of lower courts. He said seating and former judges of the High Courts and Supreme Court and legal luminaries and academicians can explain them the procedures to follow during delivery of justice.
Chief Minister Patnaik said the new building of the Odisha Judicial Academy was a longstanding demand of the legal fraternity. He said with the aspirations of people increasing, the judiciary must ensure speedy justice and his Government is committed to provide adequate infrastructure for this purpose. He also stressed upon an alternative justice delivery system through which mutual settlement of disputes is possible for poor people.
Four other judges of the Supreme Court Justices BS Chouhan, AK Patnaik, Dipak Misra and V Gopal Gowda also spoke at the function, which was presided over by Chief Justice of Odisha High Court C Nagappan. The inaugural session was also attended among others by all judges of the HC and a dozen of former judges of the High Court and Supreme Court.