“A senior government secretary and former civil servant mentioned that he was unaware the Supreme Court handles such minor cases. We are so accustomed to seeing the Court deal with major issues that the smaller work often goes unnoticed. When BR Ambedkar and other visionaries framed the Constitution, they intended this court to serve a society lacking access to justice. The Supreme Court was established to impact the lives of ordinary citizens. The Lok Adalat aims to bring justice directly to people’s homes.” During his address, CJI Chandrachud
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud spoke on Saturday (3rd Aug) at the Special Lok Adalat commemoration in the Supreme Court of India.
During his address, Chandrachud shared:
“A senior government secretary and former civil servant mentioned that he was unaware the Supreme Court handles such minor cases. We are so accustomed to seeing the Court deal with major issues that the smaller work often goes unnoticed. When BR Ambedkar and other visionaries framed the Constitution, they intended this court to serve a society lacking access to justice. The Supreme Court was established to impact the lives of ordinary citizens. The Lok Adalat aims to bring justice directly to people’s homes.”
Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on Saturday highlighted the significance of the Lok Adalat, emphasizing its role in reaching out to people and delivering justice at their doorsteps.
The Lok Adalat is a redressal mechanism where cases are resolved through mutual satisfaction of all parties outside the conventional court system.
Speaking at the Special Lok Adalat Week organized to celebrate 75 years of the Supreme Court, the CJI stressed that the Lok Adalat is not an institution run solely by judges.
“When we formed the panels for Lok Adalat, we ensured each panel included two judges, in my case three judges, and two members of the bar. This was to give advocates ownership of the institution because it is not just run by judges,”
he explained.
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“This (Lok Adalat) is not an institution of the judges, for the judges, by the judges. We learn a lot from each other. We learn from advocates about their command over procedural issues, which I am also well-versed in,”
he said.
He recalled that a former civil servant and a Central Government official were unaware that the Supreme Court also handled small or less important cases.
“We are so accustomed to seeing the Supreme Court dealing with major cases. What many people overlook is the smaller work we do in the Supreme Court. When stalwarts like BR Ambedkar framed the Constitution, they did so with a mission,”
the Chief Justice stated.
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“This court was established in a poor society where access to justice was lacking. The idea was for this institution to reach the lives of common citizens. The purpose of Lok Adalat has been to bring justice to people’s homes,”
he added.
