New Delhi: In the presence of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Chief Justice N.V. Ramana on Saturday said mere allocation of funds is not sufficient in improving the judicial infrastructure in the country.
Justice Ramana said he is hoping for a positive response, as he has been pursuing the government for setting up statutory authorities, both at Centre and states.
The Chief Justice was speaking at the national seminar on Adjudication of Intellectual Property Rights Disputes organised by the Delhi High Court. The Chief Justice said: “Judicial infrastructure needs to be improved. Unfortunately, we are not even meeting the basic minimum standards in this area. It has been my endeavour since assuming the office of Chief Justice of India, to put in place an institutional mechanism to co-ordinate and oversee the improvement of judicial infrastructure”.
The event was also attended by the Delhi High Court Chief Justice D.N. Patel. The Chief Justice added: “Mere allocation of funds is not enough. The challenge is to put the available resources to optimum use. I have been pursuing the government for setting up of statutory authorities, both at the centre and at the states. I hoping for a positive response soon”.
Justice Ramana said: “We have in our midst Nirmala Sitharaman, one of the most powerful ministers, by virtue of holding the purse strings of the country. I am given to understand that her area of research during her student days was Trade relations within the GATT framework. Her academic research coupled with practical experience in the ministries of Commerce and Finance, are a great help in formulating the policies”.
He congratulated the Chief Justice Delhi High Court and all his companion judges on the setting up of the Intellectual Property Division. He emphasised while adjudicating the claims of intellectual property rights, judges must balance the contemporary claims with the sustainable interests of the future generations.
Justice Ramana said the vesting of the intellectual property rights jurisdiction back in the high court comes at a time when the judiciary is already overburdened with the backlog. He added, however, this would not deter us from rising to the occasion and putting in place systems which may be required to deal with the new regime. “It is an appropriate moment to build sufficient capacities in our High Courts, so that intellectual property litigation can be conducted efficiently and smoothly. It is in this context that the seminar organised today is of significant value”, said Justice Ramana.
He added: “When I visited Japan in 2016 to attend a conference on IPR, I was repeatedly asked by the entrepreneurs as to how investor friendly the Indian judicial system is. In fact, whenever I travel abroad, from a cross section of hosts, I keep getting similar queries. My answer has always remained the same; that the Indian judiciary is absolutely independent and it always treats all the parties equally and equitably”.
