Delay in Justice delivery big challenge, says PM Modi

Kevadia (Gujarat):  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said delay in getting justice is one of the major challenges faced by the people of the country and a sensitive judicial system is essential for a capable nation and a harmonious society.

Since obscurity of law creates complexity, new laws should be written in a lucid manner and in regional languages to bring in "ease of justice" so that even the poor can easily understand them, he said, noting that legal language should not become a hurdle for citizens.

The PM was virtually addressing the inaugural session of the All India Conference of Law Ministers and Law Secretaries at Ekta Nagar in Kevadia, near the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. Mr Modi also said that in the last eight years, his government has scrapped more than 1,500 old, obsolete and irrelevant laws, many of which continued from the time of British rule.

"Delay in getting justice is one of the major challenges being faced by the people of our country. But our judiciary is seriously working towards resolving this issue. In this 'amrit kaal', we will have to work together to tackle this," the Prime Minister said.

He noted that systems like alternative dispute resolution and Lok Adalats have helped reduce the burden on the courts and the poor get justice easily.

Stressing the use of regional languages in the legal system, Mr Modi said that they have to play a big role.

"Obscurity of law creates complexity. If law is comprehensible to the common man, it will have a different impact," he said.

He mentioned that in some countries, when a law is framed, it is decided in two ways -- one is by giving a detailed explanation of its legal terms using technical terminology and the other is by writing it in the regional language so that the common man can understand it.

"Therefore, while framing a law, our focus should be such that even the poor can understand the new law," he said.

He pointed out that some countries have the provision of deciding during the framing of a law as to how long it will remain effective.

"So in a way, the age and the expiry date of a law are determined when it is being framed. When that (stipulated) date comes, the same law is reviewed in new circumstances. In India, too, we will have to go ahead with the same spirit," Mr Modi said.

The Prime Minister mentioned that he has been raising the issue of the use of local languages in the legal system before the judiciary.

"The country is making many big efforts in this direction. We will need the support of logistics and infrastructure for the legal language not to become a hurdle for citizens and for every state to work in this direction. Similarly, there is a need to create a legal academic system in the mother tongue for the youth," he said.

He suggested that work needs to be done to make law courses in the mother tongue, for laws to be written in simple language, and for digital libraries of important cases from the high courts and the Supreme Court to be made available in the local language.

He emphasised that this will help increase the knowledge of law among common people and reduce the fear of heavy legal terminologies.

He further noted that to remove the legal hurdles lying in the way of innovation and ease of living, more than 32,000 compliances have been reduced for the convenience of people.

He also talked about the issue of speedy trials for undertrials and said the state governments should do their best for this.

"Sensitive justice system is an essential condition for a capable nation and a harmonious society. Which is why I raised the issue of undertrials in the meeting of chief justices of high courts," he said.

Mr Modi added that the three pillars of the Constitution -- judiciary, legislative and executive -- need to work in tandem.