CRIME AGAINST WOMEN: Badal for more women judges

Chandigarh, January 11, 2013:Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh today urged the Law and Justice Ministry, Government of India to appoint more women judges for effectively dealing with the crimes against women. 

In his address on one-day conference on ‘Justice at Doorstep and Legal Aid to the Poor’ organised here at Judicial Academy, the Chief Minister underscored the need for appointing adequate women judges to ensure quick dispensation of the justice to the victims of crime against women.  He said it was far more important at this critical juncture to protect the dignity and honour of the women in wake of the recent spurt of such crimes.  

Badal pointed out that he had already urged the Chief Justice of the Punjab & Haryana High Court to set up dedicated courts for providing speedy justice to rape victims and other crimes against women. 

The Chief Minister appreciated the concept and scheme of Gram Nyalyas spearheaded by Union Law & Justice Minister Dr. Ashwani Kumar due to his shear acumen and concern for reposing people’s faith in the judiciary at the grass root level.  He congratulated Dr. Ashwani Kumar on being the first Law Minister of India from Punjab and recalled his long association with his family since the day of his distinguished father Prabodh Chander, who served Punjab and the country for a long time.   

Lauding the concerted efforts for setting up Gram Nyalyas in line with age old system of speedy justice in order to deliver it at the threshold of villagers, the Chief Minister complimented Dr. Ashwani Kumar for taking up this litigant friendly initiative to strengthen the roots of Indian judicial system.  

Badal demanded 75% cost of setting up and of running these courts to be met by GoI and not just for three years rather on continuing basis.  It may be recalled that at present the scheme was implemented on the basis of 50:50 share to be equally borne by the Centre and the state government for 3 years.  He hoped that with the introduction of Gram Nyalayas at Nangal in Ropar and Kot-Ise-Khan in Moga district, the people would get speedy justice without spending much besides saving lot of time in the near future.

Badal rued the litigation has become very costly, time consuming and burdensome particularly rural and poor people adding he said by setting of the gram nyalyas, the villages would not be required to travel long distances and they could avail of free legal services of advocates attached with the gram nyalyas.  The fact that the court would carry out its work in Punjabi would also help the litigants to understand the legal proceedings.  He also stated that as a large number of cases under various Central Acts and State Acts would be heard by these courts, the burden of other courts would be reduced giving them more time to dispose of other cases quickly.  The provision for summary trial would enable quick justice for the villages in the state saving them from undue harassment.   He also requested the Union Law Minister and Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court to reconsider the norms for requirement of land for judicial complexes and multi-storeyed residential complexes in view the scarcity of land in Punjab.

Highlighting the steps taken by Punjab government to strengthen the judicial infrastructure and manpower in the state with the committed approach to ensure speedy justice to the citizens, Badal said that the state government had recently sanctioned the recruitment of 71 Sub Judges over and above 85 Sub Judges recruited last year.  He also mentioned that the state government had already released Rs.278 crore for the construction of new judicial court complexes and it had spend Rs.422 crore on establishing new court complexes till date. 

Earlier, in his keynote address Union Law and Justice Minister Dr. Ashwani Kumar said that the concept of Gram Nyalyas would go a long way in delivering prompt justice to the villagers at their doorsteps free of cost.  He said that the rule of law was the integral part of the democracy and any aberration on the part of judiciary would not only erode the people’s faith but could also lead to anarchy in the society.  He said that judiciary at all levels should strive hard to repose the faith of people in the Indian judicial system in the right earnest.  He appreciated the collective efforts made by the judiciary in bringing down the pendency from 3 crore to 2 crore cases during 2011 which was a commendable task.  He assured the judiciary on behalf of the GoI that funds would not be a constraint in ensuring speedy justice to the people at all levels right from lower to higher judiciary. 

Prominent amongst others who present on the occasion included Chief Minister Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Chief Justice Punjab and Haryana High Court AK Sikri besides judges of Punjab and Haryana High Court, officers of the subordinate judiciary and law officers from Punjab and Haryana.