DY Chandrachud said that sometimes people get so upset with the legal process that they just want to get away from the court by doing any kind of settlement. This is a matter of concern.
In a program organized on the occasion of the 75th Foundation Day of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that Lok Adalat was held in the Supreme Court from 29 July to 3 August. A team leader can be as good as his team. This is not possible without the cooperation of the entire team. The Supreme Court may be in Delhi, but it is not the Supreme Court of Delhi. It is the Supreme Court of the entire country. It has been my endeavor that officers of the registry from all over the country should be involved. The cases of Lok Adalat were settled, there were two judges and two members of the bar in the panel. The purpose was that lawyers should also have proper representation. During this, judges and lawyers got a chance to understand each other.
Celebrating 75 years of the Supreme Court, the week-long Special Lok Adalat was started with the aim of resolving amicably those cases which had scope for settlement.
DY Chandrachud further said that the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) has resolved 8.1 crore cases last year. Many times I am asked why the Supreme Court is giving so much importance to such a small case. What is the purpose of this, then I answer that the constitution makers like Dr. Ambedkar made provision for Article 136 of the Constitution. The purpose of establishing the Supreme Court in this poor society was to make justice accessible to the people. The idea behind the establishment of the Supreme Court was not to settle only 180 constitutional cases on the lines of the US Supreme Court. Rather, its purpose is to ensure access to justice to the people, ‘justice’ is at everyone’s door.
DY Chandrachud said that sometimes people get so upset with the legal process that they just want to get away from the court by making any kind of settlement. This is a matter of concern. The purpose of Lok Adalat is to make people realize that judges are connected to their lives. We may be at the top of the judiciary, but we are connected to people’s lives. People may think that judges stop working after 4 pm, but it is not so. They read the next day’s file. On weekends, judges are not resting but traveling so that they can reach out to society.
