‘HM has already given an assurance in Parl’
Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Feb 17: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Law and Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal today said that statehood for Jammu and Kashmir would be restored “as soon as possible,” asserting that the Union Home Minister has already given an assurance on the matter in Parliament.
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Addressing a gathering at a regional workshop on Tele-Law activities at Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre in Srinagar, Meghwal said the issue was sensitive but reiterated that the commitment made in the Lok Sabha would be honoured.
“This topic is very sensitive. But when our Home Minister has said in the Lok Sabha that you will get that right, you will get it. It is a process, and I think you will hear that decision as soon as possible,” he said.
Meghwal also underlined that access to justice is a constitutional right and stressed the need to strengthen legal aid and pro-bono services, particularly for people living in remote areas.
Explaining the Tele-Law programme, he said it was designed to provide pre-litigation legal assistance to citizens who cannot easily reach courts or lawyers. Under the scheme, people can visit Common Service Centres to register their problems and connect with panel lawyers through technology. “The purpose of Tele-Law is to settle matters at the pre-litigation stage so that people do not have to immediately approach courts,” he said, adding that this would also help reduce the burden on the judiciary.
Meghwal acknowledged that case pendency remains high across courts, including the Supreme Court, high courts and district courts. He said the government had adopted multiple measures to address the issue, including Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as arbitration, mediation and conciliation, the setting up of commercial courts, and “ageing analysis” to prioritise very old cases.
He expressed confidence that wider use of technology and faster settlement mechanisms would gradually bring down pendency and improve delivery of justice.
The minister also encouraged greater participation of lawyers in pro-bono services and asked officials to expand the network of paralegal volunteers and panel lawyers to ensure wider outreach of Tele-Law across the region.
Earlier in the day, Meghwal inaugurated a Regional Event-cum-Workshop under the Tele-Law Initiative of DISHA (Designing Innovative Solutions for Holistic Access to Justice), aimed at strengthening access to justice through technology-enabled services and promoting dialogue among stakeholders, including Common Service Centres, law schools, judicial officers, advocates, administrators, students and civil society representatives.
Reiterating the central message of the programme, Meghwal said access to justice, as guaranteed by the Constitution, must reach every citizen, whether in villages, mountainous regions or coastal areas.
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