New Delhi: Justice delayed is justice destroyed: CJI Surya Kant
Justice delayed is justice destroyed, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said on Saturday, emphasising the need for high courts to be ever-vigilant and quick in providing justice. “For a small farmer whose land is being seized or a student wrongly denied admission, justice delayed is not just justice denied; it is justice destroyed…Access to justice is hollow if it comes after a decade of litigation,” he said in his Fali Nariman Memorial Lecture.
The Bombay Bar Association organised a lecture titled “The Sentinel on Qui Vive: Article 226 as the Guardian of Access to Justice”.
The CJI called the high court the primary sentinel, guarding the doorstep of the ordinary citizen through the Constitution’s Article 226, which empowers high courts to issue writs to any person or authority. “Both broad in its reach and flexible in its application, Article 226 ensures that in India, liberty will never again be at the mercy of unchecked authority, for the high courts remain ever-vigilant, ever-responsive, and ever the proud sentinels of our freedom.”
He added that while the Supreme Court is often celebrated as the “Heart and Soul” of the Constitution through Article 32, which guarantees the right to move it directly for the enforcement of fundamental rights, it is the high courts that serve as its ubiquitous pulse. “The high court’s ability to stay an executive action at the very first hearing is often the only real ‘access’ the citizen ever experiences. It is the hallmark of the Court’s protective jurisdiction to intervene at the threshold, ensuring that the status quo is preserved so that justice is not defeated by the fait accompli of administrative haste.”
He spelt out the need for the judiciary to shift from its “reactive” stance to a “supervisory” role by not just taking suo motu notice of problems that ail society but work towards solving them.
He referred to his tenure as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court and adjudication on a drug-free Punjab. “I adopted this method of patiently building systems and structures to address the issue in a long-term manner, rather than seeking short-term solutions, which are often stunted.”
He said while the Supreme Court remains the final citadel, its geographical and procedural distance can often make it an intimidating sanctuary for the common man. “It is here that the high courts perform their most transformative role – bridging the chasm between the letter of the law and the life of the citizen.”
He said this transformation should also be alive to the present-day realities – the digital divide, the complexities of algorithmic governance, and the sheer weight of mounting arrears – in ensuring access to justice to all. “Access to justice in the 21st century is inextricably linked to technological parity,” he said. He explained that a tribal woman in Gadchiroli or a worker in a remote corner of the Northeast should not be made to travel hundreds of miles to seek relief from the high court.
“The future of Article 226 lies in a ‘court without walls’, where legal protection is a seamless, accessible reality,” he said. He urged high courts to see virtual hearings not just as an “emergency measure” but embrace it as a “permanent pillar of accessibility”.
The CJI described Article 226 as the armour of citizens and access to justice as the promise that this armour is available to all, not just the privileged or luxurious few. “In our constitutional scheme, access is not merely the physical ability to enter a courtroom; it is the substantive assurance that when you do, the law will speak to your grievance with empathy and effectiveness.”
The CJI said it is the court that hears the first cry of the disenfranchised. “Whether it is an illegal detention, the right to lead a dignified life, or a mandate to the administration, Article 226 ensures that the majesty of law is never more than a few miles away from the common man.”
He said lawyers too have a role to play by ensuring judicial time is not wasted by bringing frivolous cases under Article 226. “By the strengthening of legal service authorities at the state and district level, the goal must be to transform access to justice from a passive right into an active, state-guaranteed service.”
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