Chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana thanked three chief ministers in the country for standing by him in asking the Central government to bear expenses of building new courts.

Speaking at a meeting after inaugurating the court complex in Vijayawada on Saturday, the chief justice said that the judiciary was facing problems of infrastructure and shortage of judges. He said he was able to fill a maximum number of judges both to the supreme court and the state high courts.

However, he said that several states require better buildings for the courts from the civil courts to the high courts. He said that the states were facing financial problems while some states were having revenue deficits. It is for this reason, he had asked the Central government to bear the expenses.

Justice Ramana said that the Central government had reacted adversely to his suggestion while three chief ministers have backed him. He said that the chief ministers of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have supported his demand.

The chief justice thanked West Bengal chief minister Mamatha Benerji, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin for their support. He felt that their support mattered a lot to him in providing infrastructure to the judiciary in the states.

Later in the day, the chief justice also received an honorary doctorate from Acharya Nagarjuna University. He delivered a convocation address in the University where he asked the students to have responsibility towards the society and do justice to the neglected sections.

The Chief Justice also attended the lunch offered by the state government, where chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy felicitated Justice Ramana and Governor Biswabhushan Harichandan.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said on Friday that global culture is emerging as a threat to local culture, symbols, and identities.

In his address at the 82nd convocation of Osmania University here, he noted that driven by the winds of globalisation, people are moving towards global culture and as this engulfs the world, the need of sustaining diversity assumes greater significance.

“The social media, television and pop culture glamourised a particular way of life and sadly, we are blindly aping the same. Instead of celebrating our distinct heritage and culture, we are allowing our rich identities to be blurred,” he said.

The CJI pointed out that with rapid globalisation and massive developments in science and technology, several cultures and identities are interacting with each other with increased frequency.

He said while his observations should not be taken as criticism of globalisation per se, the prevalent issues definitely prove that something has gone wrong with the present model of globalisation.

“Although we have made significant achievements, our societies are becoming increasingly divided over access to wealth and resources,” he observed.

Quoting the 2021 UNESCO World Report of Languages, the Chief Justice said half of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken in the world today could disappear by the end of the century and with loss of each language, people are not only losing considerable literature and folklore, but also losing wisdom inherited through generations.

He also noted that globalisation also significantly impacted genetic diversity. “We are witnessing rapid loss of crop varieties, wild species and indigenous livestock,” he said.

As the market is driven by demands of the global economy, more and more farmers are moving beyond indigenous crops for short-term gains and this change in cropping pattern is altering the character of soils, thereby reducing its capacity to support biodiversity.

Similarly, climate change and environmental pollution are also affecting the wild varieties resulting in a huge ecological imbalance, he said.

He pointed out that another aspect of globalisation is its impact on local handicrafts and artisans. “With global brands flooding the markets, with mass produced designs and products, the local artisans are pushed to the corner,” he said.

He called for all institutions to introduce a subject on the basic ideas about the Constitution and governance, irrespective of the stream of learning. He observed that there is a need for simplifying the ideas of the Constitution for everyone’s understanding and empowerment

The CJI believes true education is what nurtures true impulses and independent thinking. He advised the youth to dive deep and bring transformation from within instead of being prisoners of status quo.

Chief Justice Ramana, who was conferred Honoris Causa doctorate by Osmania University, recalled his memories with the varsity during his student days though he did not study in the institution.

“Initially in my student days, I aspired to join law at Osmania University. Although I could not join law formally, I stayed here with friends in hostel rooms and attended many classes in law and linguistics. I have a lot of warm memories of Osmania University,” he said.

He said Osmania University is one of those institutions where political participation and scholarly pursuits went hand-in-hand and it has produced one of the most remarkable Prime Ministers and statesmen of modern India in the form of P.V. Narasimha Rao.

He said the university contributed to fine governance by producing many Chief Ministers and cabinet ministers including incumbent Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.

Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Osmania University Vice Chancellor Professor D. Ravinder also spoke.

A total of 55 gold medals and 260 doctoral degrees were awarded at the convocation.

Chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana had recommended the name of his successor to the Central government. He had recommended the name of Justice U U Lalith as the next chief justice. The name was sent to the Central government which is expected to forward the same to the President for her clearance.

Justice Ramana is scheduled for retirement on August 26, 2022. The Central government had asked Justice Ramana to recommend his successor. As the set precedent, Justice Ramana had recommended the name of the senior most judge of the supreme court to be the next chief justice.

Justice Lalith would take over as the chief justice of the supreme court on August 27. Justice Uday Umesh Lalith was appointed as judge of the supreme court directly from the Bar. Before appointment as judge of supreme court, he was practicing as an advocate in the Apex court.

Justice Lalith would be in office as the chief justice till November 8, 2022. As the formal representation was sent naming Justice Lalith as the next chief justice, the government would forward the same to the President for her consent.

Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana on Thursday inaugurated two special courts constituted to deal with red sanders cases.

The special courts have come up at the Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) complex in the temple town.

The CJI inaugurated Judicial Magistrate of First Class Court and a District Court.

These are the first special courts set up in the state to deal with red sanders smuggling cases. The courts will help in the speedy disposal of the cases.

This region bordering Tamil Nadu is notorious for red sander smuggling. The rise in smuggling cases has led to large pendency of the cases and keeping this in view the state government took the initiative to set up special courts.

The chief justice later addressed a conference of district judges at SV University. He also inaugurated birth centenary celebrations of former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao.

Justice Ramana paid rich tributes to NTR, as the former chief minister was popularly known. He said three letters NTR gives immense power to Telugu-speaking people.

The CJI said NTR was a leader who knew people’s pulse and he implemented several schemes for the welfare of people.

He said NTR formed the party not for his own interests but to serve the people. NTR always believed that the political party should have an ideology, policies and discipline. The CJI said after his retirement he plans to write a book on NTR.

Chief Justice of India, Justice N V Ramana, said that there is a Lakshman Rekha for which the judges should be mindful of it. He drew a clear line among the three key organs of democracy and wanted every organ to respect the other.

The chief justice spoke at the National Judicial Infrastructure Authority of India conference in Delhi on Saturday. The conference was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was attended by the chief ministers and the chief justices of various states.

The chief justice also emphasised the need to have harmonious functioning by judiciary, executive and legislature. Justice Ramana asserted that the judiciary should never interfere with the functioning of the legislature.

Interestingly, when he made these comments, chief minister of Andhra Pradesh Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and chief justice of Andhra Pradesh high court Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra were present. There has been a clash between the judiciary and legislature in Andhra Pradesh in the recent past, which has triggered debate in the country.

The high court had observed that the legislature has no competence power to make laws on the capital. This observation from the high court came after hearing a batch of petitions on Amaravati to be continued as capital.

The court directed the State government to develop Amaravati as the capital city and set a deadline of six months.

These observations from the court drew serious debate in the legislature which was in the budget session. The Assembly passed a resolution reiterating its rights of making laws for the state within the limits of the constitution.

In this backdrop, Justice Ramana’s comments assume significance. It is to be seen how the AP high court would receive the comments from the Chief Justice of India.

Chief Justice of India Justice N.V. Ramana on Friday said that the judiciary is overburdened and that he is giving priority to filling up vacancies of judges and improving infrastructure to deal with the backlog of cases.

He said after taking over as the CJI, he took up both these issues.

“The reason is access to justice is possible only when we provide sufficient number of courts as well as infrastructure so that litigant public can approach the institution for justice,” he said at the inaugural session of two-day conference of judicial officers of Telangana here.

“Our judiciary is overburdened. It is an admitted fact and there is no dispute that pendency has increased in courts and the reasons are hundreds. In these circumstances, the feeling is that once you go to court. how many years will it take for the result. It’s a big question mark. With the hierarchy of the appeal system in the country, it takes more time,” he observed.

“That’s why I felt it necessary to appoint as many judges as possible. I don’t want to keep even one vacancy in high courts or Supreme Court or district judiciary and also strengthen the system,” he added.

Chief Justice Ramana said a detailed survey by the Supreme Court registry in different parts of the country found that infrastructure in courts is very inadequate and he requested the Centre to strengthen it.

He urged the judges to come out of fear of pandemic. “Please make sincere efforts to spend extra time in courts, beyond regular court hours,” he said and exuded confidence that the judges would do their bit to deal with the backlog.

He told them without improving the internal efficacy of the system, the goal can’t be achieved.

“Targeted action and effective case management can make a big difference,” he said and advised judges to use alternate dispute resolution methods whenever possible.

The CJI exhorted judicial officers to perform their judicial duties without any fear.

“I am aware of the increasing physical attacks on judges. I am doing my utmost to prevent such occurrences. Directions were issued to improve security of judicial officers both inside and outside courts,” he said.

He requested judicial officers to create a congenial environment for litigants who would be under a lot of stress.

“Always remember the human aspect of the dispute. Law cannot be far from equity. It is important to project the human face of the judiciary whenever you have scope for invoking your discretion. You must sensitise yourself to different vulnerabilities of the parties like minors, women, persons belonging to weaker sections of the society, persons with disabilities etc. They might all have different requirements. Treat everyone with respect.”

He told the judges that the role they play is highly significant in the Constitutional scheme.

“Apply your mind independently on the materials presented before you. For instance, the requirements of criminal procedure code are not mere formalities. They are all important checks on executive excesses and represent substantive rights of the accused.”

He pointed out that the law is constantly changing. High courts and Supreme Court give numerous pronouncements on diverse subjects daily, legislations are passed, guidelines and circulars are published frequently.

“You must keep yourself updated. Learning in this field never stops. Only when you are aware about changing law and precedents, you will be able to use the same to cases before you and ensure justice.”

Chief Justice Ramana said after he took over as CJI, he cleared the file pending for two years to increase the number of judges of the Telangana High Court from 24 to 42.

All praise for Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for sanctioning 4,320 posts in the judiciary, he said at a time when governments were doing away with government jobs and making appointments only on contract basis, this was not a mean achievement.

The CJI also hailed the Chief Minister for translating his dream of setting up International Arbitration and Mediation Centre (IAMC) in Hyderabad a reality. He noted that with several global companies located in Hyderabad, the centre will ensure early resolution of disputes and thus contribute to strengthening of the economy.

Noting that demands are also coming from Maharashtra and other states to set up arbitration and mediation centres, he suggested that once IAMC at Hyderabad strengthens itself, franchise centres can come up in other states.

The Chief Minister thanked CJI for increasing the number of judges in Telangana High Court. He announced that the government will build residential quarters for all 42 judges of the High Court on 30-42 acres of land near Durgam Cheruvu in the Financial District and requested the CJI to lay foundation stone for the same.

Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana on Friday visited the Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district.

Accompanied by his wife, it was Ramana’s first visit to the temple on the banks of the Krishna river after being sworn in as the CJI.

Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas, Kurnool Collector G. Veerapandian, Nandyala MP Pocha Brahmananda Reddy, Srisailam MLA Shilpachakrapani Reddy and the temple priests accorded a warm welcome to Ramana and his wife.

As per tradition, the CJI was escorted into the temple amid chants of blessings by the Vedic priests and later visited the deity.

Srinivas, Veerpandian and others presented consecrated food and a memento to Ramana.

Later, he felicitated Lakshmi Seetaramanjaneya Sharma for his translation of works from Sanskrit to Telugu from the recently published Skanda Puranam.

Ramana also enquired about some ancient inscriptions which were explained to him by Mysuru-based Director of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Muniratnam Reddy.

District judge Radhakrishna Krupa Sagar, Andhra Pradesh High Court Register judge D. Venkatarama, Telangana High Court Register judge Venkateshwar Reddy and several other dignitaries accompanied the CJI.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana visited the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh on Friday morning along with his wife and worshipped the deity.

This is his first visit to the temple after being sworn in as the Chief Justice on April 24 this year.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Chairman Y. V. Subba Reddy welcomed Ramana, who entered the temple through its main entrance.

As per tradition, the CJI was escorted into the temple amid chants by the vedic priests.

Later, the CJI received the ‘prasadam’ (consecrated food) with blessings from the priests at Ranganayakula Mandapam.

The CJI told Sri Venkateswara Bhakti Channel (SVBC) that there have been many miracles in his life and Lord Venkateswara’s blessings have led him to the highest judicial office in the country. The CJI said with the Lord’s blessings, he will work to keep the Indian judiciary’s flag flying high.

Ramana and his wife also visited the Bedi Anjaneya Swamy temple.

During his visit, the CJI was accompanied by Andhra Pradesh High Court judge K. Lalita Kumari, Chittoor District judge Ravindra Babu, Tirupati Additional District judge Y. Veerraju and Protocol Magistrate Pavan Kumar.

Senior Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader and Tirupati MLA, Bhumana Karunakar Reddy, and others were also present.

On his arrival in Tirupati on Thursday night, the CJI was accorded a warm welcome by Reddy and other senior TTD officials.

Late on Thursday night, the CJI and his wife paid a visit to the temple and prayed at the ‘dwajasthambam’.