Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam (extreme right), along with chief minister Naveen Patnaik, inaugurates the Odisha Judicial Academy building in Cuttack on Saturday. (PTI)

Cuttack, Aug. 10: Chief Justice of India P. Sathasivam today stressed on the importance of disposing of long-pending cases and speeding up the justice delivery system, particularly those related to women and children.

Speaking at the inauguration of the permanent building of Odisha Judicial Academy here, Justice Sathasivam said: “Cases related to offences against women, children and juveniles and cases pending for five to 10 years should be given first view.”

He said that chief justices of high courts have been told to ask subordinate judges to give priority to such cases.

Expressing concern over lakhs of pending cases, the CJI said: “It is an inconvenient truth that judges are also responsible for delay in disposal of cases.”

Barring exceptions, judgments should be delivered “within 30 days” of completion of final arguments and the verdict should be “clear, decisive and free from ambiguity”, he said.

“After framing of charges, it is the duty of the trial judge to complete the trial within six weeks. The trial judge should pull up the prosecutors if they delay and deliver justice as early as possible,” he said.

The CJI recommended setting up of holiday courts in addition to evening courts for quick disposal of cases. He cited the case of Chennai where more number of cases were being reportedly settled in special matrimonial courts functioning on Saturdays and Sundays.

Justice Sathasivam expected the Odisha Judicial Academy to help the judicial officers in the state to cultivate the art of judicial reasoning, skill of judging, technique and awareness to perform justice firmly and effectively.

Speaking at theevent, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said aspirations of the people were rising due to increasing awareness.

“Hence, judicial officers have to respond to it and deliver speedy justice,” he said.

He hoped that the judicial academy would provide complete training to judicial officers to meet the challenge.

Among those who spoke on the occasion included Supreme Court judges Justice A.K. Patnaik, Justice B.S. Chauhan, Justice Dipak Mishra, Justice V. Gopala Gowda and Orissa High Court Chief Justice C. Nagappan.

They hoped that the academy would ensure change in the mindset of the judicial officers to act following law and not according to their own views. They also hoped that the academy would help judicial officers to learn the craft marshalling the facts for dispensing proper justice.

Established on December 20, 2003, the Orissa Judicial Academy had started functioning from the old building of the Board of Revenue near the high court.

After the building was declared unsafe, it was shifted to the British-era official residential building of the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court inside the Barabati Fort precincts. The new Rs 32.71crore six-storey building of the Odisha Judicial Academy has come up on 2.41 acres at Markat Nagar.

Area: 2.41 acres
Building: Six-storey with carpet area of 1.07lakh sqft
Cost: Rs 32.71crore
Features: 12 classrooms, a 300-seater auditorium with audio-visual systems, lobby in five floors, library, four reading rooms, computer room, conference room and rooms for director, chairman, deputy director and assistant director, residential unit with 58 furnished suites including three for VIPs, dining hall, kitchen, indoor games room, two elevators