India's entire wealth concentrated in few hands when most cannot afford two meals a day: Justice BR Gavai

Entire wealth of the country is concentrated in the hands of a few while a vast majority cannot afford two square meals a day, Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai lamented on Friday..Echoing the words of Dr. BR Ambedkar in the final constitutional debate in November 1949, Justice Gavai said that the political equality granted by the universal adult franchise shouldn't blind us to inequality in other spheres.He highlighted the need to address the lack of economic and social mobility which trap citizens within the brackets in which they are born. "Dr. Ambedkar said that on a political plane we have achieved equality and justice by providing for one person, one vote. But what about economic and social justice inequality? We have a society compartmentalised into tight categories where persons cannot travel from one compartment to another compartment. On an economic plane we have a society where the entire wealth of the country is concentrated in a few hands whereas the vast majority find it difficult to eat even two meals a day. Therefore, he (Dr. Ambedkar) warned us that we have to make every effort to eradicate these inequalities. If we do not do so then the edifice of democracy we have so labourously built will collapse", Justice Gavai said. .Justice Gavai was speaking at an event organised by the Kerala High Court to launch several new initiatives which include India's first exclusive digital court to deal with cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act and Kerala's sixth special court to handle cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act..Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan, who also addressed the gathering, spoke about the vision of the constitution framers in including Article 17 in the Constitution abolishing untouchability in the nation.The CM affirmed Kerala's commitment to uplift all sections of society. "Those who attempt a study of the Indian Constitution without a correct comprehension of the social history of this country will be perplexed to find a provision like Article 17 in it. That Article reflected the vision of the founding fathers of the Constitution aimed at liberating large masses of people who were sidelined and subjected to disabilities by reason of their birth in certain castes treated as untouchable. Comprehensive amendments of SC/ST Act envisage the establishment of special courts. Kerala has already established five such courts and the one being inaugurated in Ernakulam is the sixth special court. It is a testament to Kerala's commitment to safeguarding the rights of marginalised communities. It is only natural that a State that makes budgetary allocation that is higher than the normative share of SC/STs in the State's population sets up a course to ensure justice to them," the CM said. .Regarding the other initiatives launched today which are part of the effort to digitise the judiciary, Justice Gavai opined that they would make justice more speedy, affordable and accessible."In the last 60 years, the country on the executive, legislative and judicial side have played their role in adhering to the constitutional promise of social and economic justice. I am sure that these endeavours will provide speedy, affordable and accessible justice", he said. Justice Gavai also spoke of the role played by technology in enabling the Indian judiciary to adapt quickly during the pandemic period. "Technology provided solace to millions of Indian citizens. After 2020 we have seen that all over the country there have been great strides in technology. We have also been using AI and now we have judgments which are translated into various vernacular languages. The system is not for the judges or the lawyers, it is for the people. Judges and lawyers work for the ultimate consumer of the system which is the citizen of India," he said. .Supreme Court judges Justice CT Ravikumar and Justice Rajesh Bindal also spoke about the adaptability afforded by technology but added words of caution to not leave behind those who may be inept at navigating an increasingly digitised justice delivery system. Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Raja Vijayaraghavan V spoke about the effort put into materialising the Kerala judiciary's vision of a more digitised system. They expressed their hope that these initiatives would go a long way in not only improving accessibility and transparency but also in tackling the judiciary's pendency problem. .[Read our live coverage of the event]