New Delhi:
Chief Justice of India H.L.Dattu Wednesday said security of women, in the wake of spate of cases of sexual assaults, could not be secured by curbing their freedom as is being advocated in some quarters.
"Safety of the women could not be achieved by curbing their freedom" and we have to find ways of dealing with the problem, he said in his address at a function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association on National Law Day.
In his inaugural address, he touched on several issues including the urgent need for reforming the criminal justice system, erosion of the constitutional protection by the government in its response to the external and internal extremism, and realising the essential needs of the vulnerable sections of the society in the wake of globalisation of economy and trade.
Referring to the country's involvement in global economic arrangements, Chief Justice Dattu said that the focus should be ensuring that the poor people are provided with food, nutrition, health facilities and employment. He said that it was unfortunate that "we have not been able to realise the these basic necessities of the people".
In his address on the occasion, Union Law Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda said that judiciary has played an important role in in promoting the rule of law, enforcing the rights of the people and protecting the environment.
Saying that both the government and judiciary will have to take initiatives to reduce the pendency of the cases, he said that taking recourse to alternate dispute redressal mechanism was the one answer for settling cases outside the courts.
Gowda said to reduce the number of cases reaching the subordinate courts, the Negotiable Instrument Act, the Motor Vehicle Act and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act were being amended.
Describing the constitution as a living document which has retained its basic shape despite a large number of amendments, Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi called for a national debate on the judiciary involving all the stake holders including all sections of people.
For a clear direction for the judiciary to take in the future, he called for a legal audit of the course that has already been traversed in last 60 years.
src:sify.com