Custodial torture still prevails, nationwide sensitisation of police officers needed: CJI
New Delhi (PTI): Custodial torture and other police atrocities still prevail in India and even the "privileged are not spared third-degree treatment", Chief Justice of India N V Ramana said on Sunday and asked the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to carry out nationwide sensitisation of police officers .
Terming the project Access to Justice as an unending mission , the CJI also said that for becoming a society governed by the rule of law, it was necessary to bridge the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable .
If, as an institution, the judiciary wants to garner the faith of the citizens, we have to make everyone feel assured that we exist for them. For the longest time, the vulnerable population has lived outside the system of justice, he said.
The past should not determine the future and all should work to bring equality, Justice Ramana stressed at the launch of a legal service mobile application and the vision and mission statement of NALSA at Vigyan Bhawan here.
The mobile App will help poor and needy people in applying for legal aid and seek victim compensation.
NALSA was constituted under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes.
The threat to human rights and bodily integrity are the highest in police stations. Custodial torture and other police atrocities are problems that still prevail in our society. In spite of constitutional declarations and guarantees, the lack of effective legal representation at the police stations is a huge detriment to arrested/detained persons.
The decisions taken in these early hours will later determine the ability of the accused to defend himself. Going by the recent reports even the privileged are not spared third-degree treatment, the CJI said.
The CJI, who is also the Patron-in-Chief of NALSA, said that to keep police excesses in check dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary.
The installation of display boards and outdoor hoardings in every police station/prison is a step in this direction, he said, adding that the NALSA must also actively carry out nationwide sensitisation of police officers.
Stressing the need for bridging the gap of accessibility to justice between the highly privileged and the most vulnerable, the CJI said for all times to come, we must remember that, the realities of socio-economic diversity which prevail in our nation, cannot ever be a reason for denial of rights".
Let our past not determine our future. Let us dream of a future based on legal mobility, a future where equality is a reality. That is why the project 'Access to Justice' is an unending mission, he said.
Furthermore, he stated that dissemination of information about the constitutional right to legal aid and availability of free legal aid services is necessary to keep police excesses in check.
Besides this, he said that the prevailing obstacles like internet connectivity and lengthy, painstaking and expensive justice processes add to the woes of realising the goals of access to justice in India.
Majority of those who do not have access to justice are from rural and remote areas which suffer from lack of connectivity. I have already written to the government emphasising the need to bridge the digital divide on a priority basis, the CJI said, referring to the digital divide between the rural and the urban populace.
He suggested that the postal network can be utilised to spread awareness regarding the availability of free legal aid services and to increase the outreach of legal services to persons residing in far-flung areas of the country.
The CJI asked lawyers, especially seniors, to help those needing legal assistance and urged the media to use its unparalleled capacity to spread the message of service of NALSA.
Concurring with Ramana, Justice U U Lalit said that besides spreading awareness about legal services through post offices and police stations, Bar Councils and law colleges can also be roped in.
We are impressing upon Bar Councils and law colleges and they must adopt one or two talukas around them so that students can be given practical training to be part of a large contingent of para-volunteers, Justice Lalit added.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
