The Minister for Law, Justice, Parliamentary Affairs and Relief & Rehabilitation, Syed Basharat Bukhari today said the basic aim of the Law Department is to provide affordable and speedy justice to the people. Making a pointed reference, the Minister said that the Law Department is the backbone of the Government; therefore, it is important that all its dimensions are streamlined and clear procedures put in place. “The road to development and prosperity goes through the Law department as it acts as a support system laying the legal roadmap and offering legal opinion to all the government departments,” he said at a meeting convened here today to review the functioning of the Law Department.Secretary Law, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, Secretary Human Rights Commission, Dilshad Ahmad Baba, Director Litigation, Kashmir, Tanveer Mufti, Special Secretaries, Additional Secretaries besides, other officers of the Law Department also attended the meeting.
During the meeting the Minister was apprised about the action taken on various issues discussed in the previous review meeting. With regard to creation of Legal Cells in each department so that the interests of the government are well taken care of while defending various cases, the Minister said that the proposal for creation of posts in such Cells needs to be submitted to the Finance Department. He directed the concerned to finalise the proposal for creation of posts within 10 days.Referring to the Litigation Policy, the Minister said that it would be implemented in letter and spirit, adding that the newly promoted District Litigation Officers shall be posted shortly.
With regard to the upgradation and updation of the library of the Law Department, the Minister was informed that the Department has purchased law books worth Rs 6 lakh and over 20 computers for the use of the officers and officials. Bukhari directed the concerned to set up Permanent Library Committee with a technical expert from outside the Department. He further added that new books relating to history, geography and polity of the State should also be purchased to add value to the library. The Minister said that in order to improve the present condition of the library, a good model from any of the best libraries in the Country could be used to develop it according to the modern setup.The Minister was informed that all the Administrative Secretaries have been requested to timely provide the copies of the judgments for examination in the Law Department so that all legal issues are properly addressed. He further said that the performance of newly appointed Law Officers shall be reviewed at regular intervals.With regard to various ongoing judicial infrastructure projects the Minister said that he would shortly visit these projects to review their progress. (GNS)