Keep pace with latest developments in IT: CJ to judicial officers

Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal Saturday asked judicial officers to make optimal use of Information Technology (IT) and said this can help expedite justice dispensation.

Mittal was speaking at a two-day north zone regional conference on 'Enhancing Excellence of the Judicial Institutions: Challenges and Opportunities'.

It was organised here by the national judicial academy in collaboration with high court and state judicial academy.

As judicial officers we have to keep pace with the latest technological developments in IT and make its use in the judicial process," the chief justice said.

Mittal exuded confidence that the judiciary was well poised to meet the challenges in delivering justice to the people.

Supreme Court Judge Justice Navin Sinha was the chief guest on the occasion while Director National Judicial Academy, Justice G Raghuram presided over the function, an official spokesman said.

Sinha, while interacting with the participants in two working sessions of the conference, also mentioned the difference between what is constitutional requirement with regard to dispensation of justice and the practical reality of the court process.

He guided the participating judicial officers to explore areas of improvement and adopt pro-active approach fearlessly and judiciously.

Referring to the recently launched video conferencing facility in district court in Srinagar,Mittal said this was an initiative under the e-courts project which envisages justice dispensation to the far flung and remote areas of the state in a hassle-free manner.

It will be launched in all courts across the state soon to save time, expenses and other related hazards, the chief justice added.

In judicial dispensation, the chief justice said the challenges are many and opportunities too are numerous, hoping that the Judiciary will poise itself for the both.

Making a mention of commercial court acts and family court acts in the state, the chief justice said efforts would be redoubled to make these effective means of delivering justice to the targeted segments of the society.

Hoping that the ongoing conference will provide a unique platform to the participants in sharing their experiences and expertise, Mittal said such events help in clearing blurred visions, doubts, improves judicial skills and instill a sense of confidence besides improving the capacity to interpret law so as to deliver expedited adjudication.

I am quite optimistic that the conference would enable us to contribute towards justice dispensation with added vigour, she said adding,I firmly believe that institutional bonding is critical to institutional development and such conferences are a step forward towards achieving this goal.

Justice Raghuram, addressing the conference, said in the past 15 years the national judicial academy is providing training and continuing legal education to judicial officers and ministerial officers of the courts.

We have several pockets of excellence in our judicial family which needs to be transformed from episodic to institutional and structural to create a Judicial world of excellence, he said.

Raghuram said the possibilities are being explored to create a separate training institute for training judges and judicial instructors in law colleges.

Legal education is a huge transformative exercise which we all need to put into effect to bring in added excellence, accountability and responsiveness in our Judicial world, he asserted.