"Language Of Justice Should Be...": President's Message For Judges

President Droupadi Murmu praised the Chief Justice Of India, DY Chandrachud, for delivering his address in Hindi during the inauguration of the new Jharkhand High Court building. President Murmu thanked the Chief Justice and spoke about the importance of language in ensuring accessibility to justice.

"The language of justice should be inclusive, so that the parties to the particular case as well as interested citizens at large can become effective stakeholders in the system.," she said, and urged other judges to follow suit.

She said that as English has been the primary language of courts, a large section of the population is left out of the process.

"The Supreme Court made a worthy beginning when it started making its judgments available in a number of Indian languages, and many other courts have also been doing so now. Needless to say, in a state like Jharkhand with rich linguistic variety, this factor becomes all the more relevant," she said.

In his speech, DY Chandrachud said that it was the responsibility of everybody in the judiciary to repose the trust of the people who come with a case.

He also said that during his seven-year tenure as a judge at the Supreme Court he had seen some people accused of petty crimes spend months in prison even before they are formally charged. He said that some of them do not have the money or education to present their case.

Inaugurating the new building of the High Court, the President said that authorities have to ensure that people get justice in the true sense.

She urged the Chief Justice of India, Union Minister of Law and Justice, Judges and other stakeholders to devise a system to deal with cases where implementation of the court's verdict is a challenge. She highlighted that the people who have spent their time, energy and money to fight the case for years should get justice.

The President pointed out that even after getting a favourable verdict, people's happiness is sometimes short-lived, as the court orders are not implemented.

She added that she would urge the CJI and the government that they "ensure that justice is delivered to people in the true sense".