Hyderabad, January 09: Underlining the importance of the law profession and the functioning of the judiciary in helping people sort out their legal issues, chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy has called upon all lawyers to fight for justice and devote more time to contribute to providing legal services to women and vulnerable sections.
He was speaking as chief guest at the All-India Women Lawyers Conference-2011, which was organised jointly by the Federation of Women Lawyers of Andhra Pradesh and the All India Federation of Women Lawyers at Shanti Sarovar, where Brahma Kumaris’ institution is located, here today.
Addressing the gathering, Kiran Kumar Reddy said that the state government had taken several steps to make free legal service available to the poor, disadvantaged and other sections.
Legal reforms should address procedural aspects so that the justice delivery mechanism can be easily understood by the public. “The system can be made more transparent, effective and people-oriented. Innovative mechanisms are required to reduce delays in legal proceedings, including revising legal codes and old and outdated laws, besides strengthening institutional aspects of the judiciary,’ he added.
Recalling his college days, the chief minister said that he had also done a course in law but never practised as a professional. However, he said, he had been working and addressing people’s problems free of cost for the past 20 years as a politician. “This is the right time for women to opt for law profession as a career and work for people,’’ he added.
Justice Altamas Kabir, Supreme Court judge, stressed the need to make legal services affordable and ensure that high costs did not become a barrier to seeking justice. “Affordability of legal services is an issue on which there should be constant focus in legal circles so that the right for judicial opportunity is not compromised due to high costs. The legal profession is an ancient and honourable profession. Lawyers work among people and can influence social attitudes. There are social evils like child marriage, female foeticide, female infanticide and dowry which need to be addressed,’’ he observed.
Explaining about the objectives of the two-day conference, M Bhaskara Lakshmi, president of All India Federation of Women Lawyers, said 800 delegates _ all women lawyers _ from various states were attending the conference to discuss the laws and rights of children, march of law and empowerment of women and functioning of family disputes resolution system.
Minister for law E Pratap Reddy, justice B Prakash Rao of the High Court, former governor VS Rama Devi and AIFWL president Manjiri Ganu were among those were present.
–Agencies