Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud expressed concern over the stereotypes plaguing the legal profession. He said that it was important to strive for change, particularly in providing equal opportunities to women and junior advocates.
He was speaking at the foundation laying ceremony for an additional court building at the Madurai district court campus on Saturday. The foundation stone was laid in the presence of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, Tamil Nadu Law Minister S. Regupathy, Supreme Court judges, Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court T. Raja, Madras High Court judges and Ministers. Additional court buildings at Mayiladuthurai were also inaugurated.
Justice Chandrachud said legal profession was not providing equal opportunities for women. “Statistics informs us that for 50,000 male advocate enrolments in Tamil Nadu, there were only 5,000 women enrolments. The situation is the same all over the country,” he said.
While this phase was changing with more number of women being recruited in district judiciary, there was a need to create equal opportunities for women. They took multifold responsibilities as they progressed in life. He pointed out that law chambers were sceptical in recruiting women though there was no lack of talent. It was because of the stereotype that they may not put in long working hours due to familial responsibilities. “Child bearing and child care is a choice and women should not be punished for taking up that responsibility,” he said.
A young male lawyer may also choose to be involved in child care and family care. If the women wanted to balance work with family care, it was the responsibility to provide institutional support. Creche facilities should be set up in court complexesin order to provide them equal opportunities and improve working conditions.
Speaking on the plight of young advocates, the CJI said that they were being poorly paid. He said that he came to know that in Madurai the entry level pay was about ₹5,000 to ₹12,000 per month. Such poor pay affected the marginalised communities. It forced young advocates to take up works unrelated to their branch of study to make ends meet. He asked the senior members to shed the paternalistic approach. The young advocates were sharp, hardworking, and hungry for work. Seniors should trust the youngsters, he said.
Supreme Court Bench
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Saturday requested Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud to look into three demands: a Supreme Court Bench in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata; social justice and inclusivity in the appointment of judges; and making Tamil the language of the Madras High Court, besides English.
He was speaking at a ceremony to lay the foundation for an additional court building on the Madurai district court campus.
Responding to the demands raised by Mr. Stalin, the Chief Justice of India said he had striven to ensure access to the Supreme Court for lawyers and law students who do not reside in Delhi. It is the Supreme Court of India for the entire nation, he said.He said the Supreme Court had introduced a hybrid mode of functioning: lawyers could appear before the court physically and virtually. The proceedings of cases before the Constitutional Bench were being live-streamed. This gave the law students an opportunity to watch the proceedings.
“Modern technology has enabled us to reach out to the citizens,” he said.
The Chief Justice of India said making Tamil a court language might require a constitutional amendment as Article 348 of the Constitution states that proceedings in the Supreme Court and the High Courts shall be in English.
He said he was aware of the language barriers. “English is not our first language. We think and formulate in our mother tongue. However, lawyers should not feel demotivated.”
He requested Madras High Court judges to be encouraging towards advocates so that they could present their cases effectively.
He said the Supreme Court judgments were being translated into the regional languages for people to keep up with the developments in law. The judgments were being digitised so that people could access them for free. He urged the Madras High Court to translate its judgments into Tamil for the benefit of litigants, lawyers and government employees.
As for inclusivity, factors for consideration had been laid out, he said.
T.N. judicial infrastructure hailed
The Chief Justice and Mr. Rijiju hailed the judicial infrastructure in Tamil Nadu. They said that it was leading the country in judicial infrastructure. Mr. Stalin said that orders had been issued to establish 44 more courts with adequate infrastructure in the State.
Mr. Rijiju said that in the Union Budget, ₹’7,000 crore was allocated for the e-Court project. This would be a game changer. “In the future we want to see the Indian judiciary going paperless.”
Speaking on the pendency of cases, he said the judges cannot be blamed. Pendency of over 4,000 crore cases was a great concern. “We have to work together as a team. We must understand the problems and challenges faced by judges. Though the disposal of cases was getting quicker, new number of cases coming up were more,” he added.
He called for the Indianisation of the judiciary. “I would be happy to see all the courts in Tamil Nadu use Tamil language, which is a classical language. We would like to see Tamil in the High Court and some day in the Supreme Court also with the help of translation and transcription,” Mr. Rijiju said.
The Madras High Court and district courts in Tamil Nadu performed well during the COVID-19 period. However, the pendency of cases before fast track courts pertaining to women and children pained him. “When the victim has to travel a long distance seeking justice, it is not acceptable,” he said. This should be redressed.
Citing certain media reports, he said the relationship between the legislature and the judiciary was good. “We are in a democracy. There are bound to be differences of opinion, but there is no confrontation and it cannot be termed a crisis,” he said.
Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court T. Raja welcomed the guests and Justice R. Mahadevan proposed a vote of thanks.
Published - March 25, 2023 09:31 pm IST
