Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Supreme Court of India on Sunday and launched multiple citizen-centric information and technology initiatives.
The event was held at the Supreme Court Auditorium in Delhi. The initiatives launched by PM Modi include Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and a new website of the Supreme Court.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister congratulated everyone and expressed gratitude for being present when the Supreme Court is marking the beginning of its 75th year and also mentioned the Constitution of India entering its 75th year two days ago.
The Prime Minister said, "Whether it is freedom of expression, personal freedom or social justice, the Supreme Court has strengthened India's vibrant democracy.”
He noted the milestone judgments on individual rights and freedom of speech that have given a new direction to the nation’s socio-political environment. PM Modi reiterated the parameters of goals for the next 25 years for every branch of the government and said that today’s economic policies will form the basis of tomorrow’s vibrant India.
Amidst the changing landscape of global geopolitics, the Prime Minister underlined that the eyes of the world are on India and its trust is constantly increasing. He emphasized the need to capitalize on all opportunities coming our way and mentioned ease of living, ease of doing business, travel, communication and ease of justice as the nation’s top priorities.
PM Modi also underscored the crucial role of a robust justice system as the cornerstone of Viksit Bharat.
Notably, the Digital Supreme Court Reports (SCR) will make Supreme Court judgments available to the citizens of the country free of cost and in electronic format. The key features are that all 519 volumes of the Supreme Court report since 1950, covering 36,308 cases, shall be available in a digital format, bookmarked, user-friendly, and with open access.
Digital Courts 2.0 application is a recent initiative under the e-Courts project to make court records available to the Judges of the district courts in electronic form. This is coupled with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for transcribing speech to text on a real-time basis.
The Prime Minister also launched the new website of the Supreme Court. The new website will be in bilingual format in English and Hindi and has been redesigned with a user-friendly interface.
Chief Justice of India, Dr D Y Chandrachud, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Judges of Supreme Court, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai, Attorney General of India, Shri R Venkataramani, President of Supreme Court Bar Association, Dr Adish C Aggarwal and Chairman of Bar Council of India, Shri Manan Kumar Mishra were also present at the occasion.
