Ranchi, July 5: Justice on wheels today rolled out on the streets of the capital.
The mobile court, an initiative of Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (Jhalsa) and brainchild of former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will ensure speedy delivery of justice to the rural poor.
Supreme Court judges S.B. Sinha and Altamas Kabir flagged off the bus. Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Jhalsa executive chairman M.Y. Eqbal were also present at the ceremony. On its debut run, the bus toured Kanke block today to decide legal matters of the residents of that area.
The air-conditioned bus is equipped with pinewood tables and swivel rotating chairs for magistrate and advocates to sit and decide on a case. The rear of the bus has a detachable door, which will allow the litigants to enter the bus and discuss their cases. The bus also has a public address system and halogen lights to hold court in evening and night.
This is not all, the bus also has a small refrigerator and a 5KVA generator. A rooftop projector, LCD and DVD player are also on board to facilitate the Jhalsa team to host shows for legal awareness in villages. The mobile bus will travel to districts with magistrates on roster duty accompanied by advocates. While the judicial team will decide petty cases on the spot, the bus will showcase the highlights of Jhalsa in delivering free legal aid. The Jhalsa will air audio and video clippings to show people the development in laws and how to avail justice, said a senior high court official.
Jhalsa also came up with its own multipurpose building, Nyay Sadan, which was inaugurated today. The building, which has a state-of-the-art library, legal aid clinics and conference halls, was constructed at an expense of around Rs 4 crore. The Nyay Sadan will host training programmes for judicial and government officers to ensure prompt delivery of justice.
Sinha, while inaugurating the Nyay Sadan, also proposed to make it the headquarters of the eastern region of judicial services. “The mobile bus is a good concept to reach out to rural folks who otherwise do not come forward to fight for their rights,” he said.