NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pitched for speedy release of 3.5 lakh undertrial prisoners languishing in jails for years and requested the chief ministers and chief justices of high courts to resolve this issue on priority.
“Sensitivity of people is linked to speedy justice and this should never be forgotten. In India, approximately 3.5 lakh prisoners are undertrials, most of whom are either commoners or are from poor families,” Modi said at the 11th Conference of CMs and CJs.
“Every district should have a committee headed by the district judge to examine each of these cases and wherever possible release them on bail. I am appealing to all CMs and HC CJs to give priority to this issue…without compromising legal requirements.”
Both the PM and CJI NV Ramana were on the same page on conducting court proceedings in a language accessible to the litigants. “Today, every HC proceeding is in English. I liked it when the CJI said the judiciary is making attempts to conduct proceedings in the local language. We have to make proceedings people-friendly by adopting the local language,” the PM said.
The PM added a committee has been set up to explore the possibility of enacting laws, the text of which could be easily understood by common citizens.
“Many countries are making laws in two versions, one in the legal language and the other in a language citizens could understand. This way the common man does not have to reach out to a court or legal expert to understand what the law is. We are also studying a similar model for enactment of laws in India: one version in legal language and the other in a language familiar to the people. Both should be passed simultaneously by the state assemblies and Parliament,” he said at the 11th conference of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts.
The PM also stressed on freeing citizens from the web of obsolete laws. He said the Union government repealed 1,450 such obsolete laws. But the states put together have so far repealed only 75 such laws.
Batting for court proceedings in local languages, the PM also spoke of education in the mother tongue. “Why can’t medical and technical education be in students’ mother tongue? When Indian students go abroad, they learn that country’s language and study medical or technical courses. We can do this in our country. Some states have taken initiative in this regard. This would open up the medical and technical courses to even students from poor rural families,” he said.
He said the judiciary and executive must plan and empower the justice delivery system with infusion of suitable technology to provide time-bound and inexpensive justice to all by the time India celebrates its centenary of Independence in 2047.
“Sensitivity of people is linked to speedy justice and this should never be forgotten. In India, approximately 3.5 lakh prisoners are undertrials, most of whom are either commoners or are from poor families,” Modi said at the 11th Conference of CMs and CJs.
“Every district should have a committee headed by the district judge to examine each of these cases and wherever possible release them on bail. I am appealing to all CMs and HC CJs to give priority to this issue…without compromising legal requirements.”
Both the PM and CJI NV Ramana were on the same page on conducting court proceedings in a language accessible to the litigants. “Today, every HC proceeding is in English. I liked it when the CJI said the judiciary is making attempts to conduct proceedings in the local language. We have to make proceedings people-friendly by adopting the local language,” the PM said.
The PM added a committee has been set up to explore the possibility of enacting laws, the text of which could be easily understood by common citizens.
“Many countries are making laws in two versions, one in the legal language and the other in a language citizens could understand. This way the common man does not have to reach out to a court or legal expert to understand what the law is. We are also studying a similar model for enactment of laws in India: one version in legal language and the other in a language familiar to the people. Both should be passed simultaneously by the state assemblies and Parliament,” he said at the 11th conference of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts.
The PM also stressed on freeing citizens from the web of obsolete laws. He said the Union government repealed 1,450 such obsolete laws. But the states put together have so far repealed only 75 such laws.
Batting for court proceedings in local languages, the PM also spoke of education in the mother tongue. “Why can’t medical and technical education be in students’ mother tongue? When Indian students go abroad, they learn that country’s language and study medical or technical courses. We can do this in our country. Some states have taken initiative in this regard. This would open up the medical and technical courses to even students from poor rural families,” he said.
He said the judiciary and executive must plan and empower the justice delivery system with infusion of suitable technology to provide time-bound and inexpensive justice to all by the time India celebrates its centenary of Independence in 2047.
