Legal awareness programme for students launched; women, workmen next in line, says chief justice

As the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) launched a legal awareness programme for students on Saturday, Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court Justice Kurian Joseph announced that women and workmen were next on the agenda.

Justice Altamas Kabir, a Supreme Court judge and Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority, said similar campaigns would be promoted in other states.

Justice Kurian said the programme would be launched in Class IX and XI of all 3,111 government and private schools in the state. Nearly 5,000 registered lawyers and judicial officers will visit one school every week. A book for the classes, Lessons in Law, was also released on the occasion. It will be made available in schools and each week one hour will be dedicated, outside the curriculum, for it.

?During my visits to rural areas in Himachal, I learnt that polyandry was still being practised here and it is due to lack of awareness among women about their rights and laws. The next campaign will be to make legal provisions a way of life for rural women, workmen, contractual labour and daily wagers,? said the CJ.

?Legal awareness and upgrading of knowledge at regular intervals is a must for practitioners and the public. Cyber law is the latest addition to the legal world and with this a new vocabulary of cyber crimes has emerged. Judicial magistrates need to update their knowledge about these crimes and the law,? said Justice Kabir in his inaugural address.

Supreme Court Justice R V Ravindran appreciated the effort and said it fulfilled the motive of setting up legal services authorities in all states.

Education Minister I D Dhiman was also present, besides SLSA Executive Chairman Justice R B Mishra, District and Sessions Judge R L Raghu and HP Bar Association president Ashok Sharma. Students from Government Senior Secondary School, Lalpani, Milind Pandey and Government Senior Secondary School, Portmore, Shabnam, also spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, speaking at a one-day workshop on mediation and training for referral judges and mediators, organised by the SLSA and Mediation Committee of the High Court, Justice Altamas Kabir said mediation mechanism is emerging as a powerful tool to supplement efforts of the courts to reduce pendency.

Justice Raveendran, Justice Kurian and Justice Misra, too, spoke on the occasion.