1.3 billion Indians welcomed critical judicial verdicts: PM
MODI A VERSATILE GENIUS WHO THINKS GLOBALLY AND ACTS LOCALLY: SC JUDGE
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said “1.3 billion Indians” have disregarded apprehensions and “wholeheartedly” accepted recent critical judicial verdicts which were subjects of the global discussion.
Speaking at the inaugural function of the International Judicial Conference 2020 ‘Judiciary and the Changing World’ at the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister spoke about recent crucial judgments, in an apparent reference to path-breaking verdicts including in the politically-sensitive Ayodhya case.
Meanwhile, in an unusual gesture, Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Mishra on Saturday was all praise for the Prime Minister and termed him as an “internationally acclaimed visionary” and a “versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally”.
Complimenting the Prime Minister and Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad for doing away with 1,500 obsolete laws, Justice Mishra said India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the “stewardship” of Modi.
Delivering the vote of thanks at the same inaugural function — ‘Judiciary and the Changing World’ at the Supreme Court, he said challenges faced by the judiciary at the national and international levels are common and the judiciary has a “significant role” in the ever-changing world.
“Dignified human existence is our prime concern. We thank the versatile genius, who thinks globally and acts locally, Narendra Modi, for his inspiring speech which would act as a catalyst in initiating the deliberations and setting the agenda for the conference,” Justice Mishra, who is third in seniority in the Apex Court, said while expressing gratitude to Modi for inaugurating the conference. On the other hand, the Prime Minister said no country or society in the world can claim to achieve holistic development without gender justice and referred to laws on
transgenders, ‘triple talaq’ and on the rights of ‘Divyang’ (persons with disabilities).
He said the government has also taken steps to give rights to women in military service and in providing paid maternity leave for 26 weeks.
He also hailed the Indian judiciary for redefining environmental jurisprudence to strike a balance between development and ecological protection. Modi, while emphasising on the use of technology and the Internet, said it would help in procedural management of courts and would benefit the justice delivery system to a large extent.
He also referred to synchronisation of artificial intelligence with human wisdom and said it would bring “speed to delivery of justice”.
“In addition, in the changing times, issues like data protection, cybercrimes pose new challenges for the judiciary,” he said in his inaugural address.
“In recent times, there have been some critical judicial judgments and decisions which have been the subject of the global discussion. Before these judgments were delivered, several apprehensions were being expressed about the consequences. But look what happened! 1.3 billion Indians wholeheartedly accepted the judicial verdicts,” Modi said.
Talking about the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi, the Prime Minister said: “Gandhiji’s life was dedicated to the cause of truth and service, which are the foundational tenets for any system of justice and as you all know, he was himself a barrister and belonged to the fraternity of lawyers”.