New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday underlined the need for swift justice in cases involving crimes against women and said that it will give them greater assurance of their safety. His remarks came as India is witnessing an outrage over the alleged murder and rape of a 31-year-old woman trainee doctor in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and the sexual assault on two kindergarten girls in Thane.
“Today, atrocities against women, safety of children are serious concerns of the society. The faster justice is delivered in cases of atrocities against women, the greater assurance half of the population will have about their safety,” Modi said while addressing the inaugural session of a national conference of the district judiciary in the presence of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.
Modi said there were several stringent laws to deal with crimes against women and there was a need to ensure better coordination among the criminal justice system to ensure swift justice.
His remarks came after West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday wrote to Modi, reiterating her request for stringent central legislation and exemplary punishment on heinous crimes like rape and murder.
In his address, Modi said, “In the Amritkaal of Independence, 140 crore countrymen have only one dream – Developed India, New India. New India, that is – a modern India in thinking and determination. Our judiciary is a strong pillar of this vision.”
The prime minister said that significant efforts had been made to eliminate delays in justice.
“In the past decade, significant efforts have been made at various levels to eliminate delays in justice. In the last 10 years, the country has spent an amount worth around Rs8,000 crore on the development of judicial infrastructure. Interestingly, 75% of the total amount spent on judicial infrastructure in the last 25 years has been spent in just the last 10 years alone,” the PM said.
“We have got new Indian judicial law in the form of Indian Judicial Code. The spirit of these laws is – ‘Citizen First, Dignity First and Justice First’. Our criminal laws are free from the colonial mindset of rulers and slaves,” he added.
PM Narendra Modi also said the judiciary is considered a guardian of the Constitution, and that the Supreme Court and the judiciary have lived up to the responsibility.
Modi also said the people of India have never shown any distrust of the Supreme Court or the judiciary.
Describing the imposition of the Emergency as a “dark” period, the prime minister said the judiciary played a key role in upholding fundamental rights.
On matters of national security, Modi said, the judiciary has protected national integrity by keeping national interests paramount.
