Owais Gul
Srinagar, Jul 26: Asserting that a total of 890 Indian laws were not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir till August 5, 2019, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday said abrogation of Article 370 paved way for bringing the region at par with the rest of the country.
Addressing North Zone Regional Conference of Legal Services Authorities here, Lieutenant Governor said, “Article 370 was nullified by the Indian Parliament in 2019 and later the Supreme Court also supported it. Now all the laws are applicable in J&K and Dalits, Adivasis, and women have got their equal rights.”
Sinha said, “We have taken three major initiatives in J&K to ensure ease of justice to the members of armed forces and committed to provide legal aid to the tribal community. J&K Legal Services Authorities must ensure that all possible legal aid reaches the army personnel, tribal community, deprived and vulnerable sections of society on time so that their lives become easier and their rights granted by the Constitution are protected.”
“Constitution of India guarantees justice, social, economic and political and one of the facets of providing justice is access to justice to all the citizens and it is to be ensured that justice reaches to the poorest of poor, who deserves it the most,” he added.
The Lieutenant Governor highlighted key structural reforms taken in the past few years to establish social and economic justice in Jammu Kashmir. “Before 2019 various central laws including two important central legislations namely the Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 were not applicable to J&K. Now, these laws have become applicable and the tribal community has been empowered,” he said, adding, “We are extending all constitutional guarantees and protections to the members of Tribal population including access to justice by providing free and competent legal aid to them.”
He said, “The justice system has been deeply rooted in the soul of India and played a pivotal role in the nation’s progress. In our culture, the court is not merely an office of justice but a sacred temple of justice, dedicated to ensuring equal justice and access to the legal system for all, without discrimination.”
The Lieutenant Governor, in his address, spoke on the major initiatives taken by the J&K administration to ensure ease of justice to the members of Armed Forces and reiterated its commitment to provide legal aid to the tribal community.
“Amendment has been made in J&K Legal Services Authority, Rules 2020 to include Secretary, Zila Sainik Board as member of District Legal Services Authority to provide legal aid to soldiers.
Furthermore, Lieutenant Governor’s Sainik Sahayta Kendra has been established and it is a dedicated institutional mechanism for facilitating the redressal of civilian grievances faced by soldiers of the Indian Armed Forces, who are posted in the J&K, or who belong to the UT and are presently serving in other parts of the country”, the Lieutenant Governor said.
LG Sinha emphasised that delay in justice means defeat of moral duties of legal services authorities at the grassroots level involved in helping the deprived and vulnerable sections.
“I am confident that in this important conference, along with solutions to the challenges being faced at the district level, the necessary interventions to make the common citizens aware of their rights under the Constitution will also be discussed,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
The Lieutenant Governor extended his felicitations to the legal luminaries, officials of National Legal Services Authority, High Court of J&K and Ladakh, J&K Legal Services Authority and everyone associated with the conference. He also paid tributes to the bravehearts of Kargil War.
The event was graced by Judge Supreme Court of India and Executive Chairman National Legal Services Authority, Justice Surya Kant; Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal; Chief Justice High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, Justice Arun Palli; Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah; Judge High Court of J&K and Ladakh and Executive Chairman J&K Legal Services Authority, Justice Sanjeev Kumar; Judge High Court J&K and Ladakh and Executive Chairperson Ladakh Legal Services Authority, Justice Sindhu Sharma; General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Northern Command, Lt. General Pratik Sharma; Hon’ble Judges of Supreme Court of India and Chief Justice of various States and UTs.
Former Chief Justices, serving and retired Judges, senior officials of Legal Services Authorities, Security Forces, Police and Civil Administration, Veer Naris, ex-Servicemen, members from Legal fraternity, and prominent citizens from different walks of life were also present.
On the occasion, NALSA Veer Parivar Sahayata Yojana 2025, a dedicated legal services scheme for defence personnel, ex-servicemen and their families, was launched. The scheme provides for establishing legal services clinics within Rajya and Zila Sainik Boards for rendering legal services and assistance to Veer Parivar.
Certificates of engagement as Para legal volunteers by Legal Services Authorities of J&K and Ladakh were also handed over to Veer Naris and ex-servicemen.
