The Chief Justice described the Supreme Court as the guardian of the largest democracy and said that the country's people know that the judiciary will stand with them if things go wrong. The Chief Justice inaugurated a virtual India-Singapore mediation summit, where he and Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon were the key speakers. Chief Justice Ramana highlighted that "The Indian Judicial system is unique not because of a written Constitution, but also because of the immense faith reposed by the people in the system."
SC Stands By Its Motto
Attending a separate event, the CJI said that the Supreme Court stands by the motto of the Indian Supreme Court 'Yato Dharamastato Jaya', which means that 'Where there is dharma, there is victory and the Chief Justice said that the Constitution gives wide-ranging powers and jurisdiction for complete justice. Mahabharata was cited as an example of mediation by the top judge and said that Lord Krishna tried to mediate between Kauravas and Pandavas.
The CJI highlighted high time for de-mystifying the delivering justice system and furthering access to courts. When questioned about the number of pending cases in the courts, he answered, "Pendency is not a useful indicator of how well, or poorly the system is doing". This is because it is a collective term for all the cases that are undisposed with the judiciary.
43,000 Mediation Centres Across The Country
The Indian Express reported the CJI saying that one of the elements contributing to judicial delays is 'luxurious litigation'. In this scenario, parties with resources tend to frustrate and delay the judicial proceedings by filing numerous cases. Adding to this, the prevailing pandemic has also been a contributing factor.
The CJI said that according to the data, since 2005, nearly 3.22 million cases have been referred, and almost 43,000 mediation centres in India have settled nearly one million cases. He underlined that a responsible judge could not be swayed by public opinion.
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