Undertrial numbers are highlighted by President Droupadi Murmu, who asks why there is a need for further prisons
On Saturday, President Droupadi Murmu called on the government and the judiciary to find solutions to the issue of undertrials incarcerated.
I have heard that new prisons will be built in the near future due to overcrowding in prisons. It is not clear why we need to build new jails if we are moving towards progress as a society. According to the President, we should close existing ones.
In his address at the valedictory session of the Law Day celebrations organized by the Supreme Court, Murmu stated, “I am leaving this issue to the judges here and to the Law Minister. There is nothing more I can say. Please accept my apologies for what I have said, and for what I did not say.”
In addition to expressing her pride at the fact that 15 of the 389 members of the Constituent Assembly were women, Murmu added: “When some of the leading nations in the West are still debating women’s rights, Indian women were involved in framing the Constitution.”
The law minister, Kiren Rijiju, stated that the government is committed to the appointment of judges from diverse backgrounds. According to him, the Government of India is committed to ensuring social diversity when it comes to the appointment of judges and has requested the Chief Justices of high courts to do the same when submitting proposals for the appointment of judges.
According to Rijiju, the judiciary has much more to do in regard to representation.
The representation of women as judges has increased over the last seven decades of India’s journey as an independent nation. However, there is a long way to go in order to meet the needs of providing diversity in higher judiciary, as well as meeting the expectations of a wide cross-section of society,” he stated.
During his remarks at the event, Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud stressed that the Constitution is uniquely Indian even in its operation, despite some of its provisions being derived from other constitutions around the world. In his remarks, he noted that there is no better time to recall that India is one of the few nations in which its citizens wrote its Constitution. As opposed to many other countries when they gained independence from the British, we drafted our own constitution.”
It is the lawyer who opens the brief with “My Lord” which is the only remnant of colonial times in the courtroom. Afterwards, he delivered a truly Indian style of advocacy, largely in Hindi, interspersed with a few English words and some Latin phrases.
According to CJI Chandrachud, the Constitution accounts for India’s rich human tapestry because it emphasises unity within diversity. It is important to note that the Constitution does not force its citizens to choose between their rights and their culture. As it moves towards a democratic society, it considers cultural, social, and religious factors.”
He noted that the principle of accommodation is different from compromise, which involves concessions. According to the CJI, this ideal is similar to what legal scholar Granville Austin would have called the “principle of accommodation.”.
In addition, CJI Chandrachud confirmed that the Supreme Court would soon conduct an audit of its facilities in order to ensure that they are accessible to persons with disabilities.
