In an obvious reference to the Supreme Court judgment scrapping the National Judicial Appointments Commission law to restore the collegium system of judicial appointments, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke against institutions taking a rigid attitude to change.
In the first public function where the Prime Minister and highest judiciary shared a dais to commemorate the Legal Services Day, Mr. Modi said institutions should not prefer to remain static, oblivious to inevitable change.
“There is a need to change the way we think. Thinking that ‘old ways are best and we will not lay our hands on them’ is not the way,” the Prime Minister said.
Mr. Modi said a favourable attitude to render legal aid to the poor should be made a criterion in the selection of judges. This statement comes even as a five-judge Constitution Bench is wrestling with new ideas and suggestions to open up the collegium.
In an aside, he told the audience of how he was just asking Supreme Court judge, Justice T.S. Thakur, who is billed to be the next Chief Justice of India, on the dais whether appointment of judges could be based on how much of their time they had committed for providing legal aid to the poor.
Mr. Modi said along with ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’, he believed there must be ‘Sabka Nyay.’
Assuring unconditional support to the efforts of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in ensuring justice to the poor, Mr. Modi said an institution should be ready to change its contours, boundaries and strengths to fulfil the purpose of its existence and bring justice.
Talking about efforts required to ensure the welfare of all sections, Mr. Modi referred to the transgender community in his speech, emphasising the need for systemic changes.
Jan Dhan scheme
Referring to the Jan Dhan scheme, Mr. Modi said it gave an opportunity to the poor, who were excluded from the banking grid though it had been 40 years since the nationalisation of banks. He said the poor had already deposited Rs. 24,000 crore under the scheme.
In his turn, Justice Thakur spoke of how NALSA, of which he is Executive Chairman, actually helped the poor fight the mighty state, which is involved in 80 per cent of the litigation.
He said alternative dispute redress mechanisms like Lok Adalats had ably aided the judiciary to lessen its burden.
“As on September 30, more than 15.14 lakh Lok Adalats have settled 8.25 crore cases.”