Strong and independent justice system safest guarantee to bolster democratic values — Vice President

Jabalpur, Sep. 18 (PTI): Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday said a strong, fair, and independent justice system is the safest guarantee to the flourishing of democratic values.

Speaking at the 1st Justice JS Verma Memorial Lecture here in Madhya Pradesh, the vice president said all in the country need to realise that nobody is above the law.

Spinally strong, fair and independent justice system is the safest guarantee to the blossoming and flourishing of democratic values, the vice president is quoted as saying in an official release.

Dhankhar said all in the country need to realise that nobody is above the law and that the people in authority and high positions need to take cognizance of this in a larger public interest and to enhance the democratic ecosystem.

The late JS Verma served as the 27th Chief Justice of India from March 25, 1997, to January 18, 1998.

Late Justice Jagdish Sharan Verma will always be best remembered for path-breaking judgments and ideas that have empowered citizens and enabled the government to overhaul institutions for the larger welfare of the people, the VP said.

Justice Verma also served as the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court from 1986 to 1989, when he (Dhankhar) was the president of the Bar Association and also a member of the Bar Council.

His tenure was marked by the uplift of the judicial ecosystem and to enhance the transparency and accountability, the vice president said.

While in the Supreme Court, he rendered several judgments that have wholesomely impacted society, Dhankhar added.

“In his landmark judgment in Vishaka & ors vs State of Rajasthan & ors case, he (Justice Verma) judicially structured the mechanism for adequately providing for specific protection of women from sexual harassment in workplaces,” he said.

Addressing another function, held on the martyrdom day of erstwhile Gondwana rulers Raja (king) Shankar Shah and his son Kunwar Raghunath Shah at the Veterinary College campus ground in Jabalpur, Dhankhar said, I bow to the great heroes born on the holy land of Madhya Pradesh on the martyrdom day of Veer Shiromani Raja Shankar Shah and Kunwar Raghunath Shah”.

He said it is because of the sacrifices made them that the people can breathe in a free India and decide their own destiny.

The whole world knows the valour and sacrifice of Rani Durgavati of (erstwhile) Gondwana (empire), he said, adding that the country will never forget the sacrifices of her descendants, Raja Shankar Shah and Kunwar Raghunath Shah in the 1857 uprising against the British.

Madhya Pradesh has the largest tribal population in the country. It is a matter of joy that the Central and state governments together are making serious efforts to empower tribals, he added.

The vice president was on a one-day visit to MP to attend the two functions.