Gauhati HC has unique identity of ensuring justice while upholding customary laws: President

President Droupadi Murmu Friday complimented Gauhati High Court for serving seven north eastern states for over six decades with a sense of "great deal of sensitivity and responsibility" and ensuring justice while upholding customary laws of the diverse communities in the region.

President Murmu speaking at the platinum jubilee celebrations of Gauhati High Court here said it holds a unique place in India’s judicial landscape since its inception in 1948 for its work and still has jurisdiction over four states. ''It is heartening to see that the Gauhati High Court continues to uphold the customary laws that have been in practice in some of the states under its jurisdiction.

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By respecting the sentiments of the indigenous people, this institution has helped to enhance the ethos of peaceful coexistence in this region,'' she said. The north east has been aptly called 'Ashtalakshmi' as diverse communities have lived together historically in the region, the president said. ''As a result, it has rich ethnic and linguistic diversity. In such a situation, institutions need to have a great deal of sensitivity and responsibility, as divergent traditions and laws govern the lives of the people of the region,'' Murmu said.

The legislations applicable to different areas may vary, but the entire area is administered by a common High Court. Some of the customary practices that are prevalent in the north east are not only expeditious but are also highly effective, she said. 'Justice includes social and economic justice as well. It becomes the duty of every generation to make it meaningful in its time. In our time, we must become sensitive to ecological justice.

''Environmental degradation has led to great injustice to many communities around the world. We need to be sensitive to other species as well as towards the whole ecology, because humankind as a whole has done unprecedented damage, that is, injustice to the other members of Mother Nature’s family'', she said. Working towards ecological justice can take many forms, Murmu said and expressed confidence that the legal fraternity will make meaningful contributions to it. Justice must be accessible to all, but the cost is a hindrance. There is therefore the need to keep expanding the reach of free legal counselling.

The language of justice too is a hindrance, but the higher judiciary has started making verdicts available in several regional languages, Murmu said. The president said that the increasing role of technology in the administration of justice has solved many problems that affected the system for long and urged lawyers and students of law to find technological solutions in the legal domain that can provide a helping hand to the poor and the needy.

The Gauhati High Court has established a distinct identity for itself by producing a number of legal luminaries and has delivered several landmark decisions, she said and expressed confidence that it will continue to serve the people in the same manner in future. ''The Platinum jubilee celebration is indeed a historic occasion and it is a milestone like this that highlights the past that has shaped the present.

A period of 75 years is a blink in history but it is indeed a long time for individuals and the institutions they have built'', Murmu said. The President also launched a mobile app ‘Bhoroxa’ made for the safety of women and elderly people in distress.