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The Chief Justice of India Justice NV Ramana on Thursday remarked that it has become a practice to distort the version of judgements passed by courts when people don’t get relief. CJI was speaking at the inauguration of 32 new judicial districts in Telangana on Telangana Formation Day. The new judicial districts were inaugurated by the CJI and Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao.

Speaking of the success of Telangana as a State, CJI said, “Eight years ago, when the State was formed, there were many doubts about it. However, the State has disproven al the doubts.”

Choosing to deliver his address in Telugu, CJI Ramana noted that it was in honour of the State and its population. He said that people's trust in judiciary should be so much so that they don’t hesitate to approach the courts in case of disputes. He noted, “Their trust in judiciary should be equal to that of the trust they have in hospitals in case of health emergencies.”

Noting that the inauguration of 32 new districts is a big step towards enabling better access to judiciary, CJI said that it is the responsibility of the lawyers, judges and litigants to use this in the best possible way. He noted that Hyderabad (the capital of Telangana) and Telangana are big commercial centres and the number of commercial courts should be increased to enable ease of doing business.

CJI Ramana also spoke of the Chief Minsters- Chief Justices conference that happened in April and spoke how there is a need to improve the judicial infrastructure in the country. Noting that he was worried about how some States had not given their consent for the formation of National Judicial Infrastructure Authority he said, “It would have benefitted the cause of improvement of judiciary and access to justice.”

Remarking that he would like to give a piece of advise to some “friends” who did not know how the judiciary functioned, CJI noted that the judiciary does not function for the benefit of just few people,  judiciary is important to uphold’s people’s rights as per the constitution. He said, “It has become easy to pass allegations on people in high positions. It has become a practice to distort the version of judgements passed by courts when people cannot get relief.”

He further noted that there is an increase in the number of people who derive pleasure by indulging themselves in such practices.

CJI Ramana said, “Everyone is a friend of the judiciary if they remain in their limits. However it is improper to not punish people who cross the line hope those friends keep this in their mind.” He noted that judiciary plays a very important role in preserving democracy and there is a need for impartial and free legal system to strengthen the nation. He added that it is the responsibility of every citizen to ensure that legal system functions in an independent manner.