'16% Courts Have No Toilets': CJI Raises Concerns Over Judicial Infrastructure

Sharing the stage with law minister Kiren Rijiju, Chief Justice NV Ramana raised concerns over the judicial infra,

Chief Justice NV Ramana raised several concerns over the state of judicial infrastructure in an event on Saturday, 23 October, while sharing the stage with Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

"The judicial infrastructure for courts in India has always been an afterthought. It is because of this mindset that courts in India still operate with dilapidated structures, making it difficult to perform effectively," he said.

CJI urged the Law Minister to ensure that the proposal to set up the National Judicial Infrastructure Authority is discussed in the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

The law minister and CJI shared a stage at an event during inauguration of annexe building of Aurangabad bench of Bombay HC. The other attendees included Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Supreme Court Justices DY Chandrachud, BR Gavai, UU Lalit and Abhay Oka, Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Dipankar Datta, Senior most judge at Aurangabad Bench Justice SV Gangapurwala and Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni.

"I have sent the proposal to the Union Law Minister. I am hoping for a positive response soon and that the Union Law Minister will expedite the process."

NV Ramana, Chief Justice of India

While law minister Kiren Rijiju said that "Judiciary isn't only being given full support but also they're being given space to become robust."

The CJI said that "good judicial infrastructure for courts has always been an "afterthought."

"It is because of the mindset that courts in India operate from dilapidated structures making it difficult to perform judicial functions. To me it is the growing demand of the public," he added.

He also said that 26 percent of the courts don't have separate toilets for women while 16 percent don't have any and that the judicial system cannot continue to work in this present condition.

"The infrastructure of courts is important for improving access to justice and to meet the growing demands of the public. It's baffling to note that the improvement and maintenance of judicial infrastructure is still being carried out in an ad-hoc and unplanned manner."

NV Ramana, Chief Justice of India

While the CJI spoke of the neglect that judiciary infrastructure has been subjected to, he ended his speech with thanking the law minister for his enthusiasm and commitment to the cause of justice.

(With Inputs from ANI and Bar & Bench)