NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday emphasised the need for swift justice in cases involving crimes against women and said that it will give them greater assurance of their safety. He also said the judiciary is considered a guardian of the Constitution, adding the Supreme Court and the judiciary have lived up to the responsibility.Against the backdrop of the rape-murder of a doctor in Kolkata and the sexual assault on two kindergarten girls in Thane, he said atrocities against women and the safety of children were matters of grave concern for society.Modi said that there were several stringent laws to deal with crimes against women and there was a need to ensure better coordination among the criminal justice system to ensure swift justice.Speaking at the inaugural session of a national conference of the district judiciary at Bharat Mandapam, the PM said, “Judiciary is considered the guardian of our democracy. The people of India have never shown disbelief towards the Supreme Court or the judiciary.”The PM said works have been done at many levels in the last 10 years to end judicial delays. “The government has spent about `8,000 crore for the development of judicial infrastructure,” he added.The two-day conference has been organised by the Supreme Court. It was attended by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, SC judges Sanjeev Khanna, B R Gavai, Union law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Attorney General R Venkataramani, president of the SC Bar Association Kapil Sibal, chairman of the Bar Council of India Manan K Mishra and judges from across the country.CJI Chandrachud termed the district judiciary as the “backbone of the judiciary” and a crucial component of the rule of law. The district judiciary is the first point of contact for a citizen in search of justice, the CJI said. He said the quality of work and the conditions in which the judiciary provides justice to citizens determine whether they have confidence in the judicial system.Referring to the increasing number of women joining the district judiciary in the past few years, he said judges, despite being professionals, are affected by their own “brush with reality” and their mental health may suffer as a consequence.
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