Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday said that strengthening judicial infrastructure is a top priority of the Delhi Government, and efforts are underway to relocate Tihar Jail to the outskirts of the city to improve access to justice.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), the Chief Minister said that ease of life is not possible without ease of justice. She noted that after the Modi Government assumed office, hundreds of obsolete laws were repealed and nearly 1,500 laws were removed to simplify the legal framework.
“We are working towards constructing additional court blocks and courtrooms, strengthening fast-track courts, and shifting Tihar Jail to areas outside Delhi so that access to justice can be maximised,” the Chief Minister said.
Congratulating SILF on completing 25 years, CM Gupta recalled the contribution of late Arun Jaitley, under whose guidance SILF was established, and said the organisation has consistently provided a strong institutional platform to the legal profession.
SILF President Dr Lalit Bhasin said that the organisation has recently completed its new building at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, with two dedicated zones. One zone, spread over two floors, is meant for online arbitration, aimed at significantly reducing the cost of dispute resolution. The second zone has been developed as a pro bono initiative for mediation and dispute resolution, offering free, non-litigation advisory services to help people understand their situations and the benefits of settlement over prolonged litigation.
“Mediation is the ultimate solution to the growing backlog of cases. Spreading awareness about amicable dispute resolution across Delhi and the country is our professional social responsibility,” Dr Bhasin said.
Emphasising the importance of access to justice, SILF Senior Vice President Manoj Singh said that if the legal system is available only in a face-to-face format, it raises the question of whether justice is truly a right or merely a privilege. He stressed the need to move beyond traditional courts and adopt technology, artificial intelligence and clearer laws to make justice a basic necessity.
He further said that the National Initiative for the Delivery of Accessible Reliefs underscores the urgent need to make remedies accessible, affordable and timely for citizens.
At the concluding session, SILF Vice President and Managing Partner of Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Pallavi Shroff, spoke on the origin and evolution of SILF. She said that when SILF was founded in 2000, there was no institutional body representing law firms, even though they faced distinct challenges and lacked a collective voice before regulators and policymakers.
Over the years, she said, SILF has helped both large and small Indian law firms strengthen technology adoption, professional skills, human resources and infrastructure in line with global standards. “Our constant endeavour has been to create an ecosystem where Indian law firms can compete globally while meaningfully contributing to access to justice and institutional development in India,” she added.
During the event, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta honoured the legal luminaries Zia Mody, Jyoti Sagar, Shardul Shroff, V. Lakshmikumaran, Justice Tejas Karia (Judge, Delhi High Court), Dr Manoj Kumar (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India), and Rajiv Luthra (posthumously) (Founder, Luthra and Luthra) for their outstanding contributions in the filld of Law.
Many senior policymakers, members of the judiciary and representatives of the legal fraternity attended the programme, deliberating on the future of justice delivery in India with a focus on mediation, technology and institutional reforms.
Among those present at the function were Pravin Anand, Managing Partner, Anand and Anand; Ameet Naik, Founder and Managing Partner, Naik & Naik & Co., Mumbai; Shweta Bharti, Managing Partner, Hammurabi & Solomon; Dr Mukul Saxena, Director (Law), Alliance University; Sachin Rastogi, Dean, Jagran University, Bhopal; and Dr Rishikesh Dave, Dean, Sharda University, among others.