Bar and Bench are partners in justice delivery: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the Bar and Bench are inseparable in the justice delivery system while addressing a programme in Tirupati. He stressed the need for strong advocacy, quality judgments, and long-term judicial infrastructure across the country

Tirupati: Bar is an integral part of the justice delivery system and cannot be separated, though people think that it is the sole responsibility of the court to deliver justice, which may be a myth, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said on Sunday.

After laying the foundation stone for the District Courts Complex here, CJI Kant said the bar and the bench are not adversaries, but two hands of the same institution. A strong bar produces strong advocacy, and when there is strong advocacy, that challenges judges to think harder, reason more carefully, and write more clearly.

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“My dear members of the bar, you are an integral part of the judicial and the justice delivery system. You cannot be separated, as sometimes people think that the delivery of justice is the sole responsibility of the bench only. That may be a myth, that may not be a true fact,” Justice Kant said.

He further said that the quality of assistance which the bar provides is reflected in the overall work of the judge. The better the bar argues, the better the quality of the judgment, and when there is a better reasoned judgment, public confidence is built in the rule of law.

Justice Kant said he strongly advocates that court complexes need to behave and act like hospitals. When a patient goes, the first thing is to provide him with first medical aid so that he feels that he is in safe hands and his life is not in danger.

“The same thing should happen with a consumer of justice who comes to you. Once he enters this complex, he should have a feeling that he will leave this complex only after securing justice. And that, my dear friends in the Bar, it is an equal responsibility of the Bar and the bench both,” he said.

He also said that wherever he visits in the country, he appeals to all state governments to provide judicial infrastructure that takes care of the next 50 or 100 years.

Justice Kant said that after some time, good places may not be available for judicial infrastructure as land is shrinking, the country is developing, the population is growing, industrialisation is expanding, and urbanisation is increasing.

Supreme Court Judges PS Narasimha, Prasanth Kumar Mishra, SV N Bhatti and Joymalya Bagchi, and Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court Justice Dheeraj Singh Thakur, also attended the event.