Mangalore: New court building inaugurated, public support to judiciary urged

Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje / Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (DV)

Mangalore, Feb 8: The new building of the district court complex was inaugurated here on Saturday February 8 in the presence of judges, advocates, ministers and other leaders.

The building was inaugurated by Karnataka high court judge Justice K Bhaktavatsala.

Addressing the gathering Justice Bhaktavatsala said, "Judges and advocates are the two sides of the same coin. Every common man should get speedy justice and have access to justice system. Nowadays peculiar crimes are being reported and it is necessary for people to come forward and speak the truth."

Stressing on people's role in the judiciary system, he said, "Ordinary people should stand up and speak the truth. It is the duty of all citizens to do so. This will help in upholding the judiciary system. If the public does not support the police and witnesses do not state the truth the system will fail."

He further added, "There are good police officers who do their job promptly and efficiently and bring the accused before the law, but unfortunately because of witnesses who turn hostile the accused get acquited. The public too do not come forward to depose before the court. Who is responsible for this? We public should take the responsibility of supporting the police in mitigating crimes."

He added that crimes against women and weaker sections are increasing in society. He also called upon the advocates serve the society promptly.

He also lauded the RTI Act which he said had been first proposed by former PM Rajiv Gandhi and first implemented in Karnataka during the regime of S M Krishna.

Appreciating the new court building, he said, "The district court here is situated at the top of the hill and hence revered as a place of worship.  Advocates and judges are the ones who provide justice to people. However, because of the vast population not all cases enter the court as some have no access to the justice system. Justice is a fundamental right of every citizen."

Another high court judge, Abdul Nazeer, said advocates and judges are the two tyres of the system. He said there are two main challenges before the court - docket explosion and docket exclusion.

Explaining docket explosion which refers to the high number of pending cases in the courts, he said, "Courts are like hospitals. There should be good infrastructure and there should be no scarcity. Cooperation between advocates and judges is essential."

On docket exclusion which means inability of the poor to access the justice system, he said, "In north Karnataka people are financially poor and are not ready to file cases. The government has provided financial assistance to the poor so that no one is deprived of the opportunity to seek legal assistance. No one should suffer in silence.

District incharge minister Ramanath Rai said that it was unfortunate that the chief minister could not attend the programme as expected. "Our forefathers established this court on a hill. Srinivas Mallya who was close to Jawaharlal Nehru contributed a lot to Mangalore. Today the legal system is strengthening day by day with RTI and other new laws. Due to RTI several cases of misdoing came to light. We have access to Right to Education and also the Food Security Bill.

"Dakshina Kannada is a district of intellectuals but some are trying to break the law. No one is above the law. End of the day, everyone shold have access to justice. People of several differnet communities, castes and languages live here with harmony. However, there are a few trying to polarise the society and we need to get rid of them. Our attitude should be one of respect and love towards everyone. There should be no hatred. God will never love one who hates others," he added.

Health minister U T Khadar said, "I have often visited this court complex since childhood. As MLA too I visited the court on various occasions. Advocates and ministers share a good rapport. We have a good court and facilities unlike in other states. At the time  we the people have the responsibility to reduce crime. We should not come to court for petty issues and instead try to resolve our issues among ourselves."

MLA J R Lobo and MLCA Monappa Bhandary also spoke on the occasion.

B V Prakash, district and sessions court judge welcomed.

Justice D H Waghela, chief justice of the high court of Karnataka, and high court judges Justice N K Patil and Justice B V Pinto were supposed to attend the programme, but could not do so as their flight from Bangalore developed a technical snag.

B Ravindranath Rai, vice-chairman ofKarnataka State Bar Council and P Ashok Ariga were present.