Everyone should follow the rule of law; and there would be chaos without Constitutional sovereignty, said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra at the 46th All Odisha lawyers’ Conference here on Friday.
“Be it judiciary, executive or legislative, we have to think that we are under Constitutional sovereignty; and we have to surrender before the Constitutional supremacy,” said Justice Misra.
The CJI said, “The role of lawyers is not limited to courts alone or advising clients in business deals. It extends to being an integral part of our system of administration of justice, and justice not just in the legal sense but justice that is social, economic and political as set out in the Preamble of our Constitution.”
The CJI informed that stress is being given on the High Courts to complete criminal appeals pending for 10 years in different parts of the country. Judges and lawyers have been asked to work on Saturdays; and within the past three months, the High Courts have disposed 1,410 cases by sitting on Saturdays.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court was leading in disposing of 321 cases followed by the Chhattisgarh High Court with 186, the Patna High Court with 177, the Punjab and Haryana High Court with 152, the Gujarat High Court with 125 and the Orissa High Court with 71. “The Odisha Government is taking all possible measures for the people of the State to avail justice at their doorsteps. Already, more than 170 courts have been set up in last four years; and for the coming financial year, there is a target to establish 50 more courts in the State,” Justice Misra informed.
He added that all the court rooms in the State would have air condition facility as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told him earlier in the day.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and State law Minister Pratap Jena also addressed the conference.