Mutual fraternity is necessary to maintain equality in country: CJI Chandrachud

Jaipur: Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said mutual fraternity is necessary to maintain equality in the country.

Addressing a state-level Hamara Samvidhan Hamara Samman campaign in Bikaner, the CJI asked how will the country progress if people fight with each other.

"We should have respect for each other in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution," he said.

Justice Chandrachud said that "human dignity was of supreme importance in the minds of the makers of our Constitution".

"Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar, as Chairman of the Drafting Committee, ensured that the Constitution promoted the values of justice, liberty and equality as well as the spirit of fraternity and dignity of the individual," he added.

Justice Chandrachud said what it means to say is that "mutual brotherhood is necessary to maintain equality in the country.

"How will the country progress if people fight each other? Therefore, when we say 'Our Constitution, Our Honour', we also have to emphasize that we should also promote fraternity and brotherhood in the country. Imbibe these feelings in your personal life," he added.

Justice Chandrachud said the country's citizens also have to understand that on one hand the Constitution talks about their rights, on the other hand it also expects them to discharge their responsibilities.

The CJI said that the Indian Constitution was made inclusive.

"The Constitution gives the right to equality before law. The principles and rights contained therein apply to all citizens irrespective of their background, religion, caste, sex or any other characteristic," he added.

The CJI said the Constitution ensures that all persons are treated equally and have equal opportunities.

Countering the theory that Indian Constitution is a paradise of lawyers, he said that it would be wrong to say that the Indian Constitution was created by just a few lawyers together.

"Many social and political movements contributed to the making of the Indian Constitution. On one hand, there was a political movement going on in India against the British, on the other hand, a social movement was also going on to remove the social inequality prevailing in India. The result of both these movements was that many such provisions were included in the Indian Constitution due to which the direction of the country changed," he said.

The Chief Justice of India (CJI) said that many efforts are being made to improve the condition of district courts.

"We want to sensitize the district courts because this is the first step towards justice. We are making many efforts to improve the condition of the district courts and to transform their buildings to suit the modern era," he added.

Highlighting the technological advancements over the years, the CJI said the potential of technology is also being used to spread legal awareness and legal services.

"The Supreme Court of the country has worked to enhance its capacity through technology," he added.

The CJI said that hearing through video conference was started a few years ago and many lawyers attend the hearing and argue through video conference.

He said the judgements are being translated through technology and it is his endeavour to make judgements available in more regional languages.

"The Supreme Court is translating its decisions into different languages of the country. The help of technology is being taken in this. Our aim is that whatever decisions are being given in the courts of the country, they should be delivered to the common people in their language. By making Artificial Intelligence user-friendly, we can bring both awareness and access to legal services to every home," he said.

Justice Chandrachud also said that it was good to see an increase in the number of women lawyers.

Union Minister of State for Law Arjun Ram Meghwal also addressed the programme.