31 August,2024 03:11 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pic/PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined the need for swift justice in cases involving crimes against women and said that it will give them greater assurance of their safety, reported PTI.
PM Modi also said the judiciary is considered a guardian of the Constitution, and that the Supreme Court and the judiciary have lived up to the responsibility.
Addressing the inaugural session of a national conference of the district judiciary in the presence of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, PM Modi said the people of India have never shown any distrust of the Supreme Court or the judiciary, reported PTI.
Describing the imposition of the Emergency as a "dark" period, the prime minister said the judiciary played a key role in upholding fundamental rights.
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On matters of national security, PM Modi said, the judiciary has protected national integrity by keeping national interests paramount.
Against the backdrop of the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in Kolkata and the sexual assault on two kindergarten girls in Thane, he said atrocities against women and the safety of children were matters of grave concern for society.
"The faster justice is delivered in cases of atrocities against women, the greater assurance half of the population will have about their safety," the prime minister said, reported PTI.
PM Modi said there were several stringent laws to deal with crimes against women and there was a need to ensure better coordination among the criminal justice system to ensure swift justice.
In his address, PM Modi said, "In the Amritkaal of Independence, 140 crore countrymen have only one dream - Developed India, New India. New India, that is - a modern India in thinking and determination. Our judiciary is a strong pillar of this vision," reported ANI.
Prime Minister Modi said that significant efforts had been made to eliminate delays in justice.
"In the past decade, significant efforts have been made at various levels to eliminate delays in justice. In the last 10 years, the country has spent an amount worth around Rs8,000 crore on the development of judicial infrastructure. Interestingly, 75% of the total amount spent on judicial infrastructure in the last 25 years has been spent in just the last 10 years alone," the PM said, reported ANI.
"We have got new Indian judicial law in the form of Indian Judicial Code. The spirit of these laws is - 'Citizen First, Dignity First and Justice First'. Our criminal laws are free from the colonial mindset of rulers and slaves," he added, reported ANI.
PM Modi also praised the Apex Court and said that the judiciary is the protector of the Constitution.
"In our democracy, the judiciary is considered the protector of the Constitution. This is a huge responsibility in itself. We can say with satisfaction that the Supreme Court has made an excellent effort to fulfill this responsibility," PM Modi said, reported ANI.
"The people of India have never distrusted the Supreme Court, our judiciary. The 75 years of the Supreme Court, as the 'mother of democracy', further enhance India's pride. This also strengthens our cultural ethos, which say, 'Satyamev Jayate-Nanritam'," the PM added.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
