In order to guarantee that justice is available, prompt, and user-friendly, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju stated on Sunday that the judicial infrastructure, particularly in the lower judiciary, needs to be reinforced. He stated that infrastructure is crucial, particularly in the lower courts, while attending the opening of the recently built Gauhati High Court, Itanagar Permanent Bench building in Naharlagun, which is close by. Judges and litigants also require appropriate amenities. “We must lower the barrier to justice and make it easier for the average person to access it. The union minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs stated that justice must be administered outside of courtrooms. He highlighted the reforms implemented by the Modi government, stating that more than 1,500 outdated and useless legislation from the British era have been repealed since they caused needless hardships for the average citizenry. Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he continued, “The government’s involvement in the lives of the common people should be minimized.” More than five crore cases are still outstanding nationwide, according to Rijiju, who also stated that the Union Cabinet has granted Rs 7,000 crore for e-courts and associated infrastructure. We have nominated 21 judges to the Gauhati High Court since 2021, including three for each of its benches in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh. He noted that there had not been an Arunachal high court judge until 2018.
Given Arunachal’s late entry into the formal court system and the persistence of customary laws, the minister, who represents the Arunachal West Parliamentary constituency, urged attorneys in the state to raise understanding of the law. “It is for the entire country but not for the tribal states of the Northeast,” he explained in reference to the Uniform Civil Code. Since we don’t wish to change the current tribal legislation, we have excluded it from this. Rijiju said the Arunachal Pradesh government is providing all the assistance it can to improve judicial delivery, and he called for the creation of new district and session courts as well as more staff in the state. The new court complex is “not an ordinary building but a temple of justice,” according to Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal’s speech.
