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Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday stressed the need to ensure and promote compassionate and humane justice in the legal system, pointing out that criminal courts require reform and laws need change.
Speaking on the occasion of Human Rights Day at the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), Chief Justice Khanna said, “The important question is, how do we ensure compassionate and humane justice? How do we promote this in our legal system? Criminal courts are an area that requires a lot of emphasis and reform. The laws need to change. We have decriminalized several laws, but much work is still in progress.”
The call for compassionate and humane justice has found powerful support in the words of President Draupadi Murmu, who highlighted the critical need to reimagine the justice system through the lens of the deprived.
The CJI added that President Murmu’s timely observations have brought critical focus to the concerning phenomenon of what he called the “black coat syndrome.”
The CJI further explained, “In that syndrome, I’ll include both the judges and the lawyers. The challenge reflects a deep-seated fear and alienation felt by the marginalized and disadvantaged regarding our legal system. Her concerns also extend to the under-trial prisoners languishing in jails, underscoring the pressing need to transform our justice delivery system in favor of the most vulnerable.”
The CJI also shared two examples to explain how disparities in the impact of law on different socio-economic classes become evident.
EXAMPLE ONE
The CJI said that the mandate of law requires an accused to appear in person on each date, except when granted an exemption. While this may not matter to the wealthy, for a rickshaw puller or someone earning a daily livelihood, spending a day in court means losing an entire day’s wages, having to pay lawyer’s fees, and ensuring food for his family.
EXAMPLE TWO
The CJI shared his own experience, stating that the most difficult court to handle in Delhi is the traffic challan court. The reason is that while traffic fines have been increased to make the punishment severe, the impact is mostly felt by those who are self-employed and have taken vehicles on EMI. The moment a vehicle is impounded and a fine is imposed, these individuals are unable to pay the EMI or feed their children.
The CJI pointed out that while the national capacity of undertrial prisoners is 436,000, our prisons house 519,000, meaning they are overcapacity by 119%. Overcrowding particularly affects undertrials, severing their ties to society, which pushes them into a spiral of criminalization.
The CJI mentioned that one significant step taken to meet these challenges is the enactment of Section 479 of the Bhartiya Naksha Sanhita 2023, a progressive provision that allows first-time offenders to be released after serving one-third of their maximum potential punishment period in custody.
Discussing this provision, the CJI said, “It acknowledges the crucial reality that prolonged undertrial detention affects the presumption of innocence, while trapping individuals, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, in deepening cycles of disadvantage and societal alienation.”
The CJI added that in response to this vital need, NALSA has launched a special campaign for elderly and terminally ill prisoners. Through systematic identification of these prisoners, it will facilitate legal services and ensure that the most vulnerable prisoners receive the justice and dignity they deserve.
Talking about legal aid services, the CJI said, “In a nation where some of us still grapple with poverty, we have built the world’s most comprehensive legal aid system. What sets the Indian approach apart is that legal aid here is not only about public defenders but also encompasses a holistic system of justice delivery.”
Referring to Human Rights Day, the CJI said that it marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1947, a declaration which enshrines a powerful truth: by virtue of a shared community, each human being inherently possesses fundamental freedoms and rights that transcend all divisions of race, gender, nationality, language, religion, or ethnicity.
He added that these rights are not mere psychological or philosophical statements; they are universal and belong to every human being. Each right reinforces the other, and together, they form the bedrock of society.
