DIMAPUR — Justice Partivjyoti Saikia of Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, on Tuesday said that every citizen should strive for excellence in one’s own field as enshrined in the Constitution.
Speaking to a section of leaders from different tribal associations in Kohima during a programme on Constitution Day organised by the Nagaland State Legal Services Authority (NSLSA) at Hotel Japfü, Kohima, Saikia said that although the people are entitled several rights, dispensing fundamental duties by every individual is also fundamentally paramount, the NSLSA stated in a press release.
The judge said Article 51 (A), sub clause J, states that citizens should strive for excellence in all aspects of their lives and collective activities.
“Being in any different profession, be it lawyers, doctor, engineer, it has to be my duty to be a good in the particular field,” he noted.
The goal is to help the nation achieve higher levels of success and endeavour, he added.
Saikia also stressed on the need to know one’s rights and “as citizens of India, we have rights, we should claim those rights also.”
“In many places, we have seen that some people are not getting their rights. That is the purpose why the courts are sitting. We are duty bound to extend the fundamental rights to every citizen of India,” he said while noting on the role of the judiciary. While calling upon the people to be aware of their fundamental duties, the judge also opined that awareness programmes should start at school level.
As part of the Constitution Day programme, Saikia led the attendees in reading out the Preamble of the Constitution.
Member secretary of NSLSA, Neiko Akami, in his keynote address, shared on how legal services provide different kinds of legal help to people, especially the vulnerable ones in the society.
Citing an example, he said some under trial prisoners who are lodged in jails are not in a position to afford lawyers to represent their case as they may have financial constraints or do not have good support system.
In this regard, the legal services provides a lawyer for free to represent them, he informed.
“Guilty or not guilty, we reach out to every vulnerable in the context of legal arena or persons unable to afford to be represented by a lawyer”, Akami said, while adding that the legal services are equipped with panel lawyers and para legal volunteers who are trained to assist people in need of legal aid, which extends from a magistrate court to appeals in a high court or even the Supreme Court.
The services extended include drafting affidavits, submission of representation to competent authority, or discharging paperwork that only lawyers can undertake, he said.
He also spoke about the importance of National Lok Adalats which are held on a quarterly basis for the benefit of the people. In the context of Nagaland, Akami disclosed that the three main case types are bank loans, MACT cases and petty issues.
Such cases, which would take minimum few years if tried in a normal court, are settled in lok adalats in a day’s time, he said.
DIGP (CID), Police Headquarter, Dr. KPA Ilyas, spoke on the NDPS Act vis-a-vis conviction rate and strategy to control drug menace in the context of Nagaland.
Earlier, the programme was chaired by NSLSA retainer lawyer Apila Sangtam.