NEW DELHI, Oct 26: The access to legal literacy is a guaranteed right under the Constitution and making the people of marginalised sections aware about it would enable them to “assert” their rights, Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam said today.
“In my considered view, access to legal literacy is a guaranteed right under the framework of the Constitution of India, though not an explicit right. The right to legal literacy exists as a part and parcel of the general right to rule of law and Constitutionalism.
“Legal literacy is the core basis for the survival of our Constitutional democracy. Our entire judicial setup functions on the presumption that all people are aware of their rights and are able to approach the concerned institution,” Justice Sathasivam said.
The CJI, however, said the increase in literacy level has not seen “parallel increase in assertion of rights among the masses. The major factor accountable for this is ignorance and lack of awareness about the existing laws and the available remedies in the legal system.”
“If India aspires to progress then the need for generating awareness of rights, as knowledge amongst its people is inevitable and the para legal volunteers are the precursor in this mission.”
Speaking at the national-level meet of para legal volunteers, organised by National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) here, the CJI said legal literacy and the awareness are the catalyst for the social-economic progress and they affect various aspects including population control, health, hygiene, environmental degradation control, employment of weaker sections of the society.
He lauded the efforts of para legal volunteers, trained by NALSA, in making people aware of legal rights particularly in rural areas and helping them in getting the redressal by “bridging the gap between the common mass and the judiciary.”
Besides Justice Sathasivam, Chief Justice of Delhi High Court N V Ramana, Justice B D Ahmed, Judge of High Court and others also took part in the function.
The CJI said,”the awareness of rights must go hand-in-hand with awareness regarding the remedies and the procedure required to obtain that remedy.
“The ultimate objective of every para legal volunteer must be to familiarise the marginalised sections of society with their rights and also provide them with information required for the assertion of such rights so that they are in a position to act and bring about a change in their standard of living.”
Citing an example, he said that the issue of female foeticide, which is rampant, cannot be tackled by banning the sex-determination alone.
“An important tool is to make women aware of the new amendment in the Hindu Succession Act, which makes daughters equal co-partners in family property. This awareness may reduce the son preference to some extent…,” he said.
“Illiteracy, social backwardness, physical, geographical, social and psychological distancing and even mental incapacity act as real barriers to the common people for getting access to the seats of justice. The result is that they become silent sufferers even while they face abject denial of justice,” he said. (PTI)
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel