Chief Justice Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Justice Gita Mittal, today visited the District Court Complex Shopian and Kulgam where she interacted with the judicial officers and lawyers and took stock of the functioning of the District Courts.The Chief Justice was accompanied by Administrative Judge District Court Kulgam Justice AalokAaradhe, Justice TashiRabstan, and Principal Secretary to Chief Justice Jawwad Ahmed.They reviewed various facilities available for litigants, lawyers, functioning of the lower courts and overall infrastructure. The Chief Justice while listening to the demands of the Bar Association Shopian promised posting of an adequate number of Judges for district courts and upgradation of requisite facilities in the interest of the general public. Expressing her pleasure at facilities available at the district court complex, the Chief Justice stressed on adding more amenities in order to improve the overall justice delivery system.The Chief Justice stressed the need to encourage disposal of pending cases through alternative dispute redressal mechanism where both parties may have win-win situation without wasting time and money, if their dispute is resolved amicably. The Chief Justice also stressed on ensuring speedy, inexpensive and timely disposal of pending cases for litigating public by Judiciary. At Kulgam during an interactive session, Chief Justice called for speedy disposal of long pending cases.
She also inspected various courtrooms along with Principal District and Sessions Judge Kishore Kumar and other judges where she was briefed about the functioning of various sections of the Court.She was also briefed about new court complex design plan and directed the concerned R&B Exen to relook into the design and add- up new section in new court complex which includes legal aid section, mediation centre, medical centre, and a section for lactating mothers and disabled.During the visit, Justice Mittal also interacted with women lawyers and complimented them for choosing legal profession as their carrier. She also applauded them for working in tough times with utmost dedication and zeal.Chief Justice also interacted with Bar Association members of Shopian and Kulgam who apprised her about various issues.On the occasion, she said that no person should leave courtroom unheard and reiterated that justice dispensation is main objective and stressed for speedy disposal of long pending cases in the courts. She also added that High Court is holding a three-day mediation training course for judges and lawyers.Among others, the event was attended by Principal District and Sessions Judge Shopian Ashok Kumar Shavan, Deputy Commissioner Shopian Dr Owais Ahmed, DDC Kulgam Dr Shamim Ahmad, Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian Sandeep Chowdry, SSP Kulgam Harmeet Singh and other civil and judicial officers.