CJI Surya Kant stresses compassion and accessibility in judicial process

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant has stressed the need for compassion, accessibility and empathy in the judicial process, calling for legal aid at police stations, survivor- and child-friendly spaces for testimony, and judgments written in language that litigants can understand. He said the justice system must consider the human circumstances behind every case, while Justice Vikram Nath emphasised that technology can improve judicial efficiency but cannot replace empathy and human judgment.

Speaking at the second Prof. Dr N R Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture, Justice Kant said compassion in judging is neither sympathy nor charity, but the discipline of seeing the whole human situation behind a case. He said compassion should extend to the invisible victims of the justice system, including survivors of gender-based violence, families of undertrials and persons with disabilities.

The CJI said justice is experienced not only through the final judgment but also through the judicial process. He stressed the need to ensure that survivors do not have to relive trauma while testifying and that litigants are able to understand the language of court proceedings.