Prime Minister Narendra Modi has on Sunday said that “Whether it is freedom of expression, personal freedom or social justice, the Supreme Court has strengthened India’s vibrant democracy.” He was addressing the 75th Anniversary celebration of the apex court in the country at the Supreme Court auditorium in New Delhi.
PM hailed the makers of the Indian constitution for envisioning a free India based on freedom, equality and justice and stated that the Supreme Court has continuously tried to preserve these principles. He also noted the milestone judgments on individual rights and freedom of speech that have given a new direction to the nation’s socio-political environment.
During the programme, PM Modi also launched citizen-centric information and technology initiatives that include Digital Supreme Court Reports (Digi SCR), Digital Courts 2.0 and a new website of the Supreme Court.
Noting that the entire justice system in the country is administered and guided by the Supreme Court of India, he stressed the government’s prioritization towards making the Supreme Court accessible to the remotest parts and mentioned giving acceptance to the third phase of the E-Courts Mission Project. PM Modi expressed delight that the digitization of all courts in the country is being monitored by the Chief Justice of India himself and congratulated him for his efforts.
Furthermore, Prime Minister expressed happiness about the availability of the decisions in a digital format and the beginning of the project of translation of the Supreme Court decision in the local language. He expressed the hope for similar arrangements in other courts of the country.
“The convergence of Indian values and modernity is equally essential in our legal statutes.” Prime Minister Modi remarked, “The government is actively working on modernizing laws to align with the present situation and best practices.”
Highlighting the introduction of new laws such as the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Samhita, Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, and Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, he emphasized, “Through these changes, our legal, policing, and investigative systems have entered a new era.”
He concluded by acknowledging the significant role the Supreme Court will play in shaping the country’s future over the next 25 years and congratulated the institution on its 75th anniversary.
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 of digital SCR are that all 519 volumes of the Supreme Court reports 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.
