New Delhi: Senior advocate and Supreme Court Bar Association president Kapil Sibal on Friday stressed the importance of empowering trial courts, district courts, and sessions courts to deliver justice without fear or favour. Addressing the inaugural event of the two-day National Conference of District Judiciary, Sibal asserted that these courts should not be viewed as subordinate but rather as vital components of the justice system.
“They are not subordinate as they deliver justice. The judiciary at that level should be instilled with the confidence that their judgments will not be held against them and that they represent the spinal cord of the justice delivery system,” Sibal said.
Reflecting on his long legal career, Sibal expressed concern over the infrequency of bail being granted at the district court level.
“In my career, I have seldom seen bail granted at that level. This is not just my experience but even CJI has said this because higher courts are burdened. After all, bail at the lower court is an exception,” he said.
“Liberty is the foundational substratum of a thriving democracy and any attempt to throttle it impacts the quality of our democracy,” Sibal added.
The Supreme Court is organising a two-day national conference of the district Judiciary beginning August 31 and September 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a commemorative stamp and coin to mark the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Court of India.
In his speech, Chief Justice of India Chandrachud called for an end to the colonial-era practice of referring to district courts as subordinate. “To sustain the spine of the legal system, we must stop calling the district judiciary as the subordinate judiciary. Seventy-five years after Independence, the time has come for us to bury one more relic of the British era – the colonial mindset of subordination,” he said.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Supreme Court Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Attorney General R Venkataramani, and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra also addressed the gathering.
President Droupadi Murmu is scheduled to deliver the valedictory address on September 1, where she will also unveil the flag and insignia of the Supreme Court.
