72% judicial officers in Kerala are women; paints picture of promising judiciary: CJI DY Chandrachud

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud Saturday said that increasing number of women have been joining the district judiciary in the past few years, with Kerala leading the pack with 72 percent of judges being women..CJI Chandrachud was speaking at the inaugural function of National Conference of the District Judiciary. The event was also attended by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal."Women consisted of 58% of the total recruitment for Civil Judges in Rajasthan in 2023. 66% of the judicial officers appointed in Delhi in 2023 were women. In Uttar Pradesh, 54% of the appointments for Civil Judge (Junior Division) in the batch of 2022 were women. In Kerala, 72% of the total number of judicial officers are women," Justice Chandrachud said, while calling it a picture of a promising judiciary of the future.However, he also referred to an incident of disrespect with a young female judge."A young district judge from a rural court recently shared her experiences. She said that while most members of the bar were respectful, a few lawyers frequently addressed her disrespectfully and with condescension. The issue appeared to arise solely due to her age and gender. Such instances can be disheartening. Your support to your younger colleagues at such times would be invaluable and would strengthen the fabric of the judicial institution," he said..CJI Chandrachud also remarked the district judiciary was often the final point of contact a litigant has with the law and not just the first contact."The reasons may be numerous – many citizens are unable to afford legal representation, they have a lack of awareness about statutory rights, and there are geographical difficulties in physically accessing courts. The quality of our work and the conditions in which we provide justice to citizens determines whether they have confidence in us and is a test of our own accountability to society," Justice Chandrachud said.He added that the district judiciary was called upon to shoulder a tremendous responsibility and is aptly described as the ‘backbone of the judiciary’. In this context, he stressed that district courts should not be called subordinate judiciary."The spine is the core of the nervous system. To sustain the spine of the legal system, we must stop calling the district judiciary as the subordinate judiciary. Seventy-five years after Independence, the time has come for us to bury one more relic of the British era – the colonial mindset of subordination.".CJI Chandrachud highlighted various other functions of the district judiciary and said the district judges, like judges at the High Courts and the Supreme Court, play a meaningful role in their interactions with members of the bar."They are administrators of courts, mentors to young judges, and communicators in society but above all they are protectors of rights for those who possess them but do not know that they exist or are unable to enforce them. They oversee the development of infrastructure and engage in case management. They work with paralegals, legal aid committees, and Lok Adalats in the course of their work," he said. .The CJI also called upon the judges in district courts to provide valuable mentorship to younger advocates."As seasoned members of the legal profession, it is easy to forget how apprehensive we all felt and how little we knew as green young advocates, fresh out of law schools. Your patience, gentleness, and guidance from the Bench will nurture the talent of young advocates and allow them to fulfil their potential. As they grow in years, they will share the mentoring they received for the betterment of society and the legal profession," he said.Justice Chandrachud also remarked that every judge has the ability to transform not only the lives of lawyers who appear in court but the present and future of society. "But to do so, we must realise as judges, that we exist for reasons beyond our own existence. The core of our function is to serve others. That can happen when we put ourselves in the place of those who come before us with real life stories of suffering and injustice," he added..The CJI also highlighted the recent technological advancements in judiciary but added that merely purchasing technological devices would be insufficient in the mission to ensure that courts are citizen-centric. "Rather, we must embrace and implement technological processes by utilising the technology at our disposal and ensuring their full use in our work," he said..PM Narendra Modi in his address said people in India have never expressed doubts about the judiciary and the Supreme Court. "I can say with confidence that Supreme Court has upheld the trust and faith we have on our institution. Even in the dark period of emergency, the Supreme Court guaranteed our fundamental rights and every time it was a question of national interest, the Supreme Court always guarded national integrity," Modi said..PM Modi described district courts as an important pillar of judiciary and said they are the first step to achieve success. "4.5 crore cases are pending in district courts and there are many steps taken to address this. In the last 10 years, 8,000 crores have been spent on strengthening judicial infrastructure. In these 10 years alone, 11,000 residential units have been constructed for the district courts," Modi added..Regarding the newly introduced criminal laws, Modi said their focus was "citizen first and justice first". "The focus is also to strengthen the citizens especially women and children. Community service has also been introduced as a punishment. Electronic summons have also been introduced," he added.He also spoke about women safety and called for faster adjudication in cases of crimes against women."In 2019, the fast track courts law was passed. Under this witness deposition centres was created. District monitoring committees play an important role. We must strengthen these committees further and the faster verdicts are delivered in issues of women safety, the more it will safeguard the justice delivery process," Modi said.