Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 18: Judicial officials of six northern States gathered here today for a conference on the “Role of Courts in upholding Rule of Law” that is aimed at facilitating the sharing of knowledge and experiences among judges.
The three-day conference started here with over 75 delegates, including 30 Judicial Officers from Jammu and Kashmir High Court taking part in it.
The conference, organised by the High Court and the State Judicial Academy in collaboration with National Judicial Academy (India) Bhopal, was inaugurated by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah along with Chief Justice of JK High Court Justice M M Kumar and Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice S K Koul at SKICC.
Judicial Officers of six northern States – Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi, Allahabad, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana and Uttrakhand are participating in the conference.
The meeting aims at facilitating sharing of knowledge, views and experiences amongst judges from neighbouring States on selected challenges besides developing uniformity in understanding the legal principles throughout the country and help to promote uniform best practices throughout.
In his address, Justice Kumar said “the Rule of Law is an idea which has been articulated in our Constitution more than 63 years ago.
“The declaration made in Chapter III of the Constitution, containing fundamental rights leave no doubt that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights which include life, liberty, justice and fraternity,” he said.
He said,”even today we find that it is a never ending journey and we are all clamouring to ensure that these principles are translated into the realities of lives of our citizens.
“Freedom may be a gift from God but it necessarily requires to be secured on earth,” he said.
“The challenge which confronts the legislature, executive and judiciary today is how to bring the teeming millions on the equal pedestal by restoring them their right to equality, justice and fraternity,” he said.
Referring to the objective of holding conference, Justice Kumar said,”We try to find solutions to the problems of high cost, delay and procedural bottlenecks so as to make justice accessible to a larger number of people.”
Citing an example of Jammu and Kashmir, Justice Koul said,”when we deal with cases of counter-terrorism, we are also concerned with the aspect of public safety, which has to be balanced against individual liberty.
“Therefore, it is no absolute in any sense, but a balancing of conflicting interests to establish what we totally call as the rule of law,” he said.
Director, NJA India, Balram K Gupta, in his address, said judges are not the engines of power but rather the engines of justice.
He said even developed countries around the world look forward to the contribution which the Apex court, the high courts and even the district courts in the country have given and appreciate their role.
The highlight of the conference was the participation of 20 junior advocates, 10 each from Jammu and Kashmir Bars, for the first time.
“This innovative step has been taken by Justice Kumar to give a sense of participation to the Bar and to intellectually expose them to the legal deliberations of highest order in which Judges from Supreme Court, Chief Justice’s and Judges of other States besides academicians of national level are participating as resource persons,” an official spokesman said.
Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Mir Saifullah who also addressed the conference spelt out the importance of Rule of Law in democratic polity. He assured that his Ministry will provide whatever support is required to strengthen the judicial institutions in the State.
Earlier, Mr Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir, presented welcome address and spoke about the objective of organising the conference. He hoped that the conference will provide the new generation a guideline to adhere strictly to the Rule of Law and will develop sense of discipline, dedication in their day to day life.
Mr Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar proposed vote of thanks the dignitaries who attended the inaugural session.
Later, in Session 2, Mr Justice A P Sahi and Dr Virender Kumar spoke about Classical Origins and Constitutional Understanding. It was followed by Session 3, in which Mr Justice Surya Kant spoke on Rule of Law and Human Rights and in Session 4, a discussion was held on relevance of Rule of Law to District Judiciary.
Follow our WhatsApp channel