Did Bindu Ammini and Kanakadurga, the two women who took that bold first step and turned it into a giant leap for Indian women across the board, ever realise the colossal sociopolitical impact of their historic journey to Sabarimala temple? On behalf of The Leaflet, Senior Advocate Indira Jaising and young lawyer Nehmat Kaur, undertook a journey to meet in person the two brilliant and feisty women, for whom the former knocked the doors of the Supreme Court seeking State protection.
'There is a tremendous scope for improvement in the functioning of the legal aid and advice system in the country. As the Chairperson of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee, I got an independent open door audit conducted of the functioning of the Committee and that revealed very many things that needed to be critically examined to improve the effective, efficient and qualitative availability of legal assistance to litigants who approach the SCLSC. I think this is true across the board and it would be advisable for all legal services institutions under the Legal Services Authorities Act to conduct an open door audit.'
On last year’s unprecedented press conference by the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Lokur said, “It was worth it” and added, “It has brought about some openness in the system”. Justice Lokur also mentioned that the system needs to be changed in such a way that the review of judges for corruption is made speedier and that justice is ensured.
On behalf of The Leaflet, Prashant Padmanabhan, Advocate-on-Record at the Supreme Court of India, spoke to Justice Kurian Joseph (Retd) on December 4, 2018 for an in-depth peak into the recently retired Supreme Court judge’s mind and heart, as well as his inspirations while deliberating on major court cases and delivering landmark judgments. Justice Kurian Joseph, who has been known as an upright and compassionate judge, retired as a Supreme Court judge on November 29, 2018.
‘The Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 addresses some of these concerns. Some significant concepts introduced include the right to be forgotten, data portability, restrictions on cross-border data transmission, carve outs for anonymised data and journalistic purposes, and reporting requirements for personal data breaches.’
‘#MeToo is an example of a successful self-correction leading to change of mind sets. Nevertheless, we would still be seeking help from experts to assess if there are any changes required anywhere so that women feel safer in the work places. I am going to set up a body of judges who will act as a Commission . They can hear the complaints and then give us their recommendations.’