On 1st outing, Sadananda Gowda seeks judicial accountability

President Pratibha Patil on Saturday called on the judiciary to equip itself to deal with issues such as cyber laws and intellectual property rights. At the golden jubilee of the Karnataka State Bar Council, she said technology has thrown up issues — cyber crime and hacking — that were unheard of a few years ago. This requires a constant need to upgrade skills.

On the occasion, chief minister DV Sadananda Gowda said that the state government is committed to providing financial help for the smooth functioning of the judiciary. He said that providing affordable justice is the need of the hour and that it is important that lawyers help the poor.

Gowda added that Saturday’s event was his first public function after he took over as chief minister and that he was delighted to share the dais with the president on his very first outing.
“Globalisation has resulted in a greater movement of people, businesses and technologies across borders. I, therefore, told lawyers and our judges to focus on preparing themselves for future challenges,” said Patil.

Patil also called on lawyers to offer free legal services through legal aid cells.

“Approaching a court remains a daunting prospect for many people since navigating through the legal processes is not only complex, but also expensive,” she said.

“Court fees and high fees of lawyers make legal services unaffordable for many,” she added.

She added that there was a need to move forward decisively to establish ‘gram nyayalayas’ at the grass-roots level as mandated by the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, and that this would provide access to justice at people’s doorsteps and address difficulties of the rural populace, which has to commute long distances to attend court hearings.