Efforts should be made to change the 'culture of adjournments' in courts: President Murmu | News India

New Delhi, September 01 (HS). President Draupadi Murmu said on Sunday that efforts should be made to change the “culture of adjournments” in courts to ensure speedy justice. She said that this causes unimaginable suffering to poor people. Every possible measure should be taken to change this situation.

President Murmu said this while addressing the closing ceremony of the two-day National District Judiciary Conference organized at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. She said that the poor man of the village is afraid of participating in the judicial process and silently suffers injustice. He feels that going to the court will make his life more painful. She said that the pending cases before the court are the biggest challenge before all of us. All stakeholders have to find a solution by giving priority to this problem.

During this, the President drew attention to the difference between rich and poor in the judicial process. He said that it is a sad aspect of our social life that in some cases, the well-off people roam around fearlessly and freely even after committing a crime. Those who are victims of their crimes remain scared, as if they were the ones who had committed a crime. He said that the stress level of common people increases in court situations, which he named “Black Court Syndrome” and suggested that it should be studied.

The President stressed on paying special attention to the health and education of women and children serving prison terms. He said that sometimes my attention goes towards the children of mothers serving prison terms and juvenile offenders. The children of those women have their whole lives ahead of them. Assessment and improvement on what is being done for the health and education of such children should be our priority.

He expressed happiness that the number of women selected as judicial officers has increased in recent years. This increase has led to women constituting more than 50 per cent of the total number of judicial officers in many states. He expressed hope that all those associated with the judiciary will set ideal examples of thoughts, behaviour and language free from prejudices regarding women.

Underlining the importance of district level courts, the President said that it is the district level courts that determine the image of the judiciary in the minds of crores of countrymen. Therefore, providing justice to the people with sensitivity and promptness at low cost by the district courts is the basis of the success of our judiciary.