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CJI Surya Kant to : Must Be Rooted in Local Realities, Not Uniform
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Saturday called on legal services institutions to abandon "one-size-fits-all" approaches and design solutions around the language, needs and lived realities of local communities. Inaugurating the West Zone Regional Conference of the in Indore, he defined effective as "dialogue, dignity and inclusion" and said those terms describe what looks like when it actually works.
The two-day conference, themed
"Strengthening
through
: United Voice, Stronger Tomorrow,"
was convened by
and the
. It brought together judges, judicial officers,
counsel, paralegal volunteers and civil society representatives from across the western zone. Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and
judges Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Manmohan also attended the inaugural session.
A Single Solution Cannot Serve Every Community
CJI Surya Kant warned that legal services authorities cannot apply uniform remedies to structurally different problems.
"The legal needs of a tribal family in Madhya Pradesh, a fisherfolk community in Goa, a migrant worker in Gujarat or a woman seeking legal assistance in Mumbai are unlikely to be identical,"
he said.
"When the problems are different, there cannot be a single solution. Therefore, it must be rooted in local realities. You will have to solve the local problem with the local solution."
He stressed that identifying those problems begins with communicating in the language of the people.
"Until we don't speak their language, don't talk to them, don't interact with them, don't listen to their problems in their own words, there will be a big difference in understanding the whole problem and solving it,"
he observed.
The CJI drew on Indore's history to illustrate accessible justice. He recalled Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, who held open court almost daily to hear farmers, widows and traders directly, without intermediaries.
"What made her administration remarkable was not merely that justice was delivered, but that it was accessible—the very standard this Conference asks us to reach,"
he noted.
'People Spoken To, Not Merely Spoken At'
Elaborating on the conference theme, the CJI said the three concepts should be treated as a working definition rather than banner slogans.
"I do not read these three words as slogans for a banner. I read them as an accurate description of what
looks like when it actually works: people spoken to and not merely spoken at, treated as citizens and not mere case numbers, and reached wherever they are, rather than expected to find their own way to us."
, he said, has never been built by laws alone but begins with conversation. Every application starts with someone narrating a problem; every mediation begins with parties agreeing to listen; and every legal awareness programme succeeds only when institutions first understand the realities of the people they serve.
Dignity, in his formulation, means justice that sees the person, not just the case. The CJI noted that public confidence in the justice system is shaped before any judicial order is pronounced, from the moment a person enters a clinic, court complex or Taluka Legal Services Authority office. The manner in which a person is received, heard and treated determines their perception of the justice system.
Drawing a parallel with hospitals, he said a patient's confidence is influenced by the conduct of nurses, technicians and doctors; similarly, a litigant's faith in the justice system depends on the empathy and respect shown by those who first interact with them. Even a case that is resolved may leave a person emotionally broken, he said, adding that legal services institutions must ask
"how to bring back the dignity of the person who has been hurt."
, Not Charity
The CJI was emphatic that legal assistance for vulnerable groups is not an act of generosity.
"When we help the tribal community, the socially backward class, those who are financially backward, specially abled persons, women and children, it is not a matter of charity. It is a matter of
,"
he said. This echoes the mandate of
of the Constitution and the
, under which
and
operate.
He described paralegal volunteers and counsel as part of a "judicial army" that takes government schemes to the grassroots, and said their words, like those of nurses and doctors, should instil confidence in litigants that they will receive justice. He also urged legal services institutions to learn from the communities they serve, not merely to inform them of their rights.
Inclusion: The Real Test of an Institution
Inclusion, the CJI said, is the hardest pillar to measure.
"The real test of an institution is not how well it serves those who are able to reach it. The real test is those who cannot come to you, and how you reach out to them."
He highlighted several existing initiatives—Tele-Law, which has handled more than one crore
consultations; the Nyaya Bandhu platform connecting pro bono advocates; and mobile
clinics reaching remote and tribal areas. Their success, he cautioned, would depend on effective implementation at the grassroots level.
Inclusion cannot be measured by the number of schemes or statistics, he added. Institutions must constantly ask whether another village remains unreached, another vulnerable community unheard, another language unexplored for legal awareness, and whether another barrier remains in the way of justice.
New Initiatives and a Justice System in Flux
During the conference, Justice Manmohan launched the Justice for Children Fellowship Programme, a collaborative initiative of the , and the . Arjun Ram Meghwal released "Nyay Ke Swar," a collection of artworks, poems and creative expressions inspired by the mission of legal services. CJI Surya Kant congratulated Justice Vikram Nath, 's Executive Chairman, on the new initiatives.
Speaking to reporters after the event, the CJI said the backlog of court cases in the country has declined significantly over the past decade.
"We have developed numerous schemes for speedy disposal of cases through technology, and these have yielded very good results,"
he said, while acknowledging that backlogs have multiple causes being addressed systematically.
Asked about harassment cases filed by women that later prove to be false, he declined to make a general statement, saying each case depends on its specific facts. When questioned about the central government's repeated return of names recommended by the Collegium for judicial appointments, he declined to comment, noting that the event was a Legal Services Authority programme.
Implications for Legal Practice
The CJI's address signals a shift in how legal services authorities are likely to be assessed: not by case disposal alone, but by whether citizens feel heard and respected. For lawyers and paralegal volunteers, the practical takeaways include investing in language skills, local cultural competence, and communication that treats litigants as rights-holders rather than case numbers.
For institutions, the speech implies that outreach must be measured geographically and socially. It may also push to develop locally differentiated programmes rather than replicate a single national template. The emphasis on the stage could influence training and infrastructure decisions, from reception protocols at Taluka Legal Services Authority offices to the design of legal awareness campaigns.
The CJI concluded by invoking and urging West Zone states to move "beyond principle into practice" with concrete frameworks and better coordination. A stronger tomorrow, he said, is not something to wait for but something being built now. The ultimate test of the conference, he reminded participants, is whether its outcomes reach the households it was meant to serve.
