New Delhi: In a display of bonhomie between the judiciary and the executive, Supreme Court judge Arun Mishra praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “versatile genius” said that Modi is the one who “thinks globally and acts locally”.
SC judge Arun Mishra who is among the five most senior judges of the top court of the country was delivering the vote of thanks at the inaugural session of the International Judicial Conference 2020 ‘Judiciary and the Changing World’.
“India is a responsible and most friendly member of the international community under the stewardship of internationally acclaimed visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. We thank the versatile genius who thinks globally and acts locally Shri Narendra Modi for his inspiring speech which will act as a catalyst in initiating the deliberations and setting the agenda for the conference” said the judge.
He further stated that masses were being left out of Globalization and that it needs to be stopped before it becomes lethal.
“We need to address a growing concern of masses being left out by Globalization. It has to be taken care of by us all before it becomes lethal. In present world, information and trade are the instruments of war. There is no more “war” now,” said Mishra.
As Justice Mishra spoke, the stage was graced by Prime Minister Modi, Chief Justice Sharad A. Bobde, Justice N.V. Ramana, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal and Justice L. Nageswara Rao.
The function was attended by the Supreme Court and high court judges, judges from across 24 nations, former judges and advocates.
Speaking earlier at the event, Prime Minister Modi hailed the Indian judiciary for redefining environmental jurisprudence to strike a balance between development and ecological protection.
He spoke of gender justice and said no country or society in the world can claim to achieve holistic development without it.
Modi then referred to laws on transgenders, ‘triple talaq’ and on the rights of ‘Divyang’ (persons with disabilities) and said the government has also taken steps to give rights to women in military services and in providing paid maternity leave for 26 weeks to women.
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Referring to the use of technology, Modi said it can help in procedural management of courts and benefit the justice delivery system to a large extent.
“In addition, in the changing times, issues like data protection, cyber-crime pose new challenges for the judiciary,” he said.
Referring to recent judicial verdicts by Indian courts, the PM said 1.3 billion Indians have “wholeheartedly” accepted them despite there being several apprehensions expressed about the consequences.
Also speaking at the occasion, Chief Justice of India S A Bobde said India is a “melting pot of cultures” and has assimilated cultures of Mughals, Dutch, Portuguese and English.
“Constitution has created a strong and independent judiciary and we have strived to keep this basic feature intact,” the CJI said.
Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, on the other hand, referred to apex court judgements and said terrorists and corrupt people have “no right to privacy” and such persons should not be allowed to abuse the system.
Prasad said governance must be left to elected representatives and delivering judgements should be left to judges.
He said populism should not infringe upon the settled principles of law.
(With inputs from PTI)