President Droupadi Murmu of India has emphasized the significance of women's active involvement within the judiciary, underscoring that the judiciary is a vital component of society.
She pointed out that women judges made up only around 9% of the Supreme Court and approximately 14% in High Courts, highlighting the need for greater female representation within the judiciary.
"Judiciary is also a part of the society; hence I think there should be proper participation of women here also," she said.
President Murmu made these remarks during a foundation stone ceremony on September 27 for the Annexe building of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. The event was attended by other distinguished guests, including Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Ravi Malimath, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, and Governor Mangubhai C Patel.
"Empowerment of women is very important for India. In the Parliament held last week, an Act to reserve 33 percent seats for women in the Central and State Parliament was passed. I am confident that this initiative will be very revolutionary for the political empowerment of women," she said.
"The process of giving justice is not based on any single mathematical formula. In the administration of justice, along with knowledge of books, use of behavior and intelligence is also expected. Other dimensions like emotions, circumstances, and sensitivity are also present in this process. Therefore, greater participation of women in the justice system will also be in the interest of the judiciary," she said.
"As people associated with the judiciary know, the decision given by the Jabalpur High Court in favor of life and personal liberty in the case of ADM Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla was overruled by the Supreme Court in the year 1976. Finally, after 42 years, in the year 2017, the Supreme Court changed its decision. The basic principles of the then decision given by the Jabalpur Court in favor of fundamental rights have been reestablished by the Supreme Court," the President recounted.
"Today, the judiciary is facing challenges like large number of pending cases, huge number of undertrial prisoners, development in the infrastructure of courts etc. According to an estimate, about 4.5 crore cases are pending in the lower courts across the country, out of which cases are pending for 20 to 30 years," she noted.
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