By TIOL News Service

VIZAG, AUG 04, 2020: The Vice President, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, today expressed concern over the mounting pendency of cases from the Supreme Court to the lower courts and urged the government and the judiciary to ensure faster justice by addressing the issue.

Addressing through virtual mode the  Platinum Jubilee meet of Dr B.R. Ambedkar College of Law, Andhra University on the occasion of its 76th Foundation Day, he  underscored the need to make  delivery of justice speedier and affordable. C iting adjournment of cases over long periods, he observed that justice was becoming costly and referred to the well-known proverb “justice denied is justice delayed”.

The Vice President said that Public Interest Litigations (PILs) should not become private interest litigations for personal, pecuniary and political interests.  There was nothing wrong if it was for a larger public cause, he stressed.

Asking the law students to be the voice of the voiceless and to use their legal knowledge to empower the marginalized people, he advised them to take up legal aid for the poor as a commitment. He also told the budding lawyers to nurture professionalism and ethical conduct, while being fearless and fair when it comes to discharging their duties. “Fight injustice wherever it exists and in whichever manner it is perpetuated”, he added.

Highlighting the need to avoid ambiguity while drafting laws, the Vice President said laws should be simple and uncomplicated. The focus should  not only be on the letter but also on the spirit of and the intent behind our laws. “The intent and purpose of the law must be very clear”, he added. 

Observing that lawyers are capable of bringing about great social transformation, the Vice President said that as a society evolves, so must its laws. “We must constantly introspect and scrutinize our laws from the prism of justice, fairness, equity, compassion and humanity and must continually reform and update our laws, rules and regulations”, he said.

Mr Naidu said that laws which do not find a place in a progressive society must be repealed without prejudice and without delay, while modifying others to suit the times.

Calling for an all-round effort to improve our justice system, the Vice President spoke of the need to continually improve our legal infrastructure and access to justice, especially for the common man. Expressing concern that a vast majority of our laws and regulations were still illegible to the ordinary citizen, he called for the expansion of legal literacy.