NEW DELHI: Terming the district judiciary as the “backbone of the judiciary”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Saturday said district court judges have the ability to transform the present and future of our society.
“A crucial component of the rule of law, the district judiciary is the first point of contact for a citizen in search of justice. The arc of pending cases is like a pyramid, large at the base and tapering as we move upwards. This data reveals that the district judiciary is not just the first but also the final point of contact for many citizens,” the CJI added.
Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day ‘National Conference of the District Judiciary’, the CJI asserted that it was necessary to stop calling district judiciary subordinate.
Justice Chandrachud said the district judiciary was called upon to shoulder tremendous responsibility and was aptly described as the ‘backbone of the judiciary’.
“To sustain this 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 to bury one more relic of the British era the colonial mindset of subordination,” he stated.
The CJI said, “Every judge has the ability to transform not only the lives of lawyers who appear in court, but the present and future of our society.”
He also highlighted the changing demography of the judiciary. “An increasing number of women have been joining the district judiciary in the past few years. Women made up for 58 per cent of the total recruitment for Civil Judges in Rajasthan in 2023.”
He further noted that as many as 66 per cent of the judicial officers appointed in Delhi in 2023 were women. In Uttar Pradesh, 54 per cent of the appointments for Civil Judge (Junior Division) in the 2022 batch were women.
“Besides, 72 per cent of the total number of judicial officers in the latest recruitment in Kerala were also women,” he said at the conference, which will also deliberate on gender dynamics in the judiciary and the need to ensure an inclusive workplace.
The CJI asked the judges to keep up with evolving times by updating themselves with the new laws and changing societal conditions. “Society changes with the passage of time and while judges are required to be islands, standing apart from others in society, they must still be aware of the world around them. This is indispensable in ensuring that justice is delivered in each case,” he stated.
Noting that over 3,500 court complexes and more than 22,000 courtrooms have been computerised under the e-Courts Project, Justice Chandrachud lauded the district judiciary for playing a crucial role in deploying technology in the day-to-day affairs.
“The district courts in the country have heard 2.3 crore cases through video conferencing. The judgments of the Supreme Court are being translated in every language recognised by the Constitution and 73,000 translated judgments are in the public realm,” he said.
Urging the judges to focus on upgrading skills, the CJI said, “Our education is not complete with the completion of our degrees. While our formal education may end there, our practical learning extends beyond our days at a university. Each case has the potential to make us more sensitive to the human condition and the human story behind the case. This, in turn, enables us to work with empathy and compassion.”
Additionally, the CJI expressed hope that the conference would facilitate a dialogue and understanding about the concerns of judges of the district courts, enabling a collective vision for the future of the Indian legal system.