SC Judge urges legal fraternity to avoid religious rituals on court premises

Justice Oka said disputes related to marriages were on the rise and there was a need to increase the number of family courts nationwide

Supreme Court Judge Justice Abhay Oka has advised the legal fraternity to avoid “puja” (rituals) on the court premises and urged them to start any work by bowing down before a copy of the Constitution of India.

Justice Prasanna B Varale of the Supreme Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay, the Chief Justice of Bombay High court and Guardian Justice of Pune, High Court Judge Justice Revati Mohite Dere were also present at the event. (HT PHOTO)

“As we complete 75 years of adopting the Constitution, we should start this practice to show respect and to implement its values,” he told the gathering during the groundbreaking ceremony of a new court building at Pimpri-Chinchwad on Sunday.

SC Justice Bhushan R Gavai led the ceremony of the building.

“This year on November 26, we will complete 75 years of adopting the Constitution given by Babasaheb Ambedkar. I always feel that our constitution has two important words in the Preamble, one is secular and second is democracy. Some may say secularism means ‘Dharmnirpekshta or Sarv Dharm Sambhav’, but I always feel that the core of the judicial system is the Constitution,” Justice Oka said.

“Therefore, sometimes judges have to say some unpleasant things. I want to say that now we have to stop doing puja or lighting lamp kind of rituals during any event related to the judiciary. Instead, we should keep the Preamble of the Constitution and bow down to it to start any event. We need to start this new thing to respect our Constitution and its values ..., During my tenure in Karnataka, I tried to stop such religious rituals but could not do it completely but somehow managed reduce it..,” he said.

Supporting Justice Oka’s suggestion, SC Judge Justice Bhushan Gavai said, “He has given a good suggestion. Instead of performing puja of a specific religion we should mark the foundation with a spade. We should inaugurate the event by watering plants instead of the lamp-lighting ceremony as suggested by our colleague Anil Killore. It will definitely send out a good message to society in terms of environment”.

Bail pendency

Speaking on the fundamental right of getting justice and pendency of bail matters at Supreme Court, Justice Gavai said, “Justice should be ‘speedy’ and ‘at affordable price’. Every bench of the Supreme Court attends minimum 15 to 20 cases per day of bail matters. I think if we as judges are courageous and of unbiased nature like Ramshastri Prabhune, the revered chief justice of the Maratha Empire in the later half of the 18th century, within us, why should we fear to grant bail. These days, the situation is like bail is not granted in the district court. Also, it has become a challenge to get bail even in the high court. The pendency of bail matters at the Supreme Court has gone up.”

“Despite (a criminal) spending around nine to ten years in a jail before the trial is over, if the judges do not consider a bail plea, we should think about the current system,” he said.

Family court

Justice Oka said disputes related to marriages were on the rise and there was a need to increase the number of family courts nationwide.

“This has become a serious issue, particularly in cities. There are 10-15 cases filed for one marriage dispute. There is a need to increase the number of district, sessions and family courts,” he said.

Justice Prasanna B Varale of the Supreme Court, Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay, the Chief Justice of Bombay High court and Guardian Justice of Pune, High Court Judge Justice Revati Mohite Dere were also present at the event.

With agency inputs