Pro-people orders alone can't ensure access to justice: CJI

Access to justice is a right that cannot be secured by delivering pro-people verdicts alone and must be complemented by meaningful administrative steps, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said on Monday.

- Utkarsh Anand

Explaining the holistic concept of "access to justice", CJI Chandrachud highlighted how the use of technology, improved infrastructure, physical and functional accessibility to courtrooms, and gender-neutral measures can aid in removing a spate of barriers for the citizens.

"The complexities of law and process, the inequality between ordinary citizens and powerful adversaries, judicial delays, and the belief that the system works against marginalized communities are among the various barriers that stand in the way of equal access to justice. I realized over time that access to justice is not a right that can be secured only by crafting pro-people jurisprudence in our judgements, but rather, that it requires active progress on the administrative side of the court as well," said justice Chandrachud.