Under the vision of Justice, Pankaj Mithal, Chief Justice, High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (Patron-in-Chief J&K Judicial Academy) and guidance of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur, Chairman J&K Judicial Academy and other Judges of Academy’s Governing Committee, the Academy today organized one day training programme on “Personality Development, a Pursuit of Justice, Leadership role of a Judge as captain of ship in the trial court”, for Judicial Magistrates (Munsiffs) of Kashmir division.Sanjay Parihar, Director, Judicial Academy extended warm welcome to Justice Sanjay Dhar, Judge, High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Member, J&K Judicial Academy), Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Former Judge, High Court of J&K who was Resource Person, Mohammad Akram Choudhary, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Srinagar and the participating Officers.Justice Sanjay Dhar, Judge, High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh delivered thought provoking and inspiring inaugural address. He laid stress on inculcating virtues of independence and impartiality, moral stability, ethical approach, empathy and precision in pursuit of Justice. He exhorted upon the Judicial Officers to maintain high standards of integrity in their professional as well as personal lives. Society expects judges to make decisions in a fair and impartial way on the basis of the rule of law, he added.“
The greatest strength of judiciary is the faith of the people in it”, Justice Dhar asserted which envisages Judges to have continuous development in their personality both inside as well as outside the court room. He must be the servant of justice and not its master. Independence means that a judge has both the right and the duty to render decisions according to the law, free from fear of criticism or reprisals of any kind, even in difficult and sensitive cases, he added. He said that a judge should never be influenced by external factors and pressures when addressing a case.Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Former Judge, High Court of J&K urged that judging is not a job but a divine service towards society. He stated that Judge has to be a role model for the whole society besides being a tireless defender of justice. Judges must guard against the temptations and urges that they may encounter both inside as well outside the Court room, he added.The programme was divided into two working sessions which were presided over by Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, Former Judge, High Court of J&K and moderated by Director Judicial Academy. The sessions were mostly interactive wherein the participants interacted and deliberated on the subject topics.The programme concluded with vote of thanks by Director, J&K Judicial Academy who expressed gratitude to the visiting Resource Person and participants with a hope that the deliberations and discussion in the programme will be enriching and act as a catalyst in pursuit of justice.Earlier, Mohammad Akram Choudhary, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Srinagar, contributed towards development of the training programme.