Justice not privilege of few but right of every citizen: CJI Gavai
New Delhi (PTI): Justice is not a privilege of the few but a right of every citizen, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai said on Saturday, while emphasising that it is the duty of judges and lawyers to ensure that the light of justice reaches even the last person standing at the margins of society.
Addressing the inaugural function of a national conference on strengthening legal aid delivery mechanisms at the Supreme Court premises, Gavai said the true reward of the legal services movement does not lie in statistics or annual reports, but in the quiet gratitude and renewed faith of citizens who once felt invisible.
"Justice is not a privilege of the few but a right of every citizen, and that our role, as judges, lawyers, and officers of the court, is to ensure that the light of justice reaches even the last person standing at the margins of society," Gavai said.
Gavai said the real measure of success is not in numbers but in the trust of the common person, in the belief that someone, somewhere, is willing to stand by them. "And that is why our work must always be guided by the spirit that we are changing lives," he added.
"Even your presence for a single day, your visit to a village or a jail, your conversation with a person in distress, can be life-changing for someone who has never had anyone come for them before," he said.
At the event organised by NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) to mark its 30th year, the CJI said that legal aid must not be envisioned as a reactive system, but as a living movement.
"We must not wait for distress to knock on our doors. Instead, we must continuously reflect on how society is changing in the new challenges, the new forms of exclusion, and the emerging needs of the people we serve.
"The strength of a just society lies in our ability to foresee where injustice may arise, and to reach there before it does," he said.
Gavai said as India celebrates the 75th year of its Constitution, the legal aid movement must keep carrying forward the vision embedded in the Preamble: the assurance of justice, social, economic, and political.
"The Constitution's promise will be truly fulfilled only when every person, regardless of caste, gender, language, or circumstances, feels that the system of justice belongs to them," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest at the event, which was also attended by Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Gavai's successor Surya Kant, as well as other judges from the Supreme Court and high courts.
Justice Vikram Nath delivered a vote of thanks and said the prime minister's presence has given renewed direction and energy to the collective endeavour to make access to justice efficient, inclusive, and technology-driven.
NALSA was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
The CJI acts as its patron-in-chief, and the next senior-most Supreme Court judge is the Executive Chairman.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
