M’lore: DK District New Court Building inaugurated, Judges urge public support to judiciary

By Special Correspondant
Pics by John V Tauro
Bellevision Media Network

Mangalore, 9 Feb 2014: The new building of Dakshina Kannada (DK) district court complex was inaugurated here on Saturday February 8. 

 

Karnataka High Court (HC) judge K Bhaktavatsala inaugurated the new building of DK district court complex here on Saturday morning.

 

Speaking on the occasion, judge 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,’ said judge Bhaktavatsala.

 

Stressing on people’s role in the judiciary system, judge Bhaktavatsala 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,’ said Bhaktavatsala.

 

Bhaktavatsala further said, ‘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 acquitted. 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,’ said Bhaktavatsala.

 

 

 

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

 

Bhaktavatsala lauded the Right to Information (RTI) Act; which he said had been first proposed by former PM Rajiv Gandhi and first implemented in Karnataka during the reign of CM S M Krishna.

 

Appreciating the new court building, Bhaktavatsala said, ‘The district court here is situated at the top of the hill and hence revered as a place of worship.  The 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,’ said Bhaktavatsala.

 

Karnatkaa HC judge Abdul Nazeer, said advocates and judges are 2 tyres of the system. He said there are 2 main challenges before the court - docket explosion and docket exclusion.

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

 

On docket exclusion, which means inability of the poor to access the justice system, judge Abdul Nazeer said, ‘In Uttar Kannada district, 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, said judge Abdul Nazeer.

DK district in-charge minister Ramanath Rai said that it was unfortunate that the CM Siddaramaiah could not attend the programme as expected. ‘Our forefathers established this court on a hill. Srinivas Mallya who was close to Jawaharlal Nehru contributed significantly to the progress of 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, said minister Rai.

‘DK district is of intellectuals but some are trying to break the law. No one is above the law. End of the day, everyone should have access to justice. People of several different communities, castes and languages live here with harmony. However, there are a few trying to polarize 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,’ said minister Rai.

 

The state 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,’ said minister Khader.

 

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