Srinagar: Union Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal on Saturday pitched for a mechanism to prioritise the disposal of court cases involving defence personnel.
The Minister of State (Independent charge) for Law and Justice was addressing a two-day north zone regional conference on ‘reaffirming the constitutional vision of justice for defence personnel and tribals’ at SKICC.
“Some mechanism should be made so that priority is given to hearing the case of a soldier who is on leave and has to report back to duty,” Meghwal said.
He said such cases, including those of revenue, need to be dealt with on a fast-track basis.
“There can be a separate common service centre dedicated to providing information about legal procedures to army personnel. I will also talk within the government to see if a dedicated revenue court can be set up for serving and retired defence personnel. That can be a very good result of this conference,” he said.
Speaking in the same vein, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stressed that timely justice should be ensured to defence personnel, tribals and weaker sections of society to protect their Constitutional rights and improve their lives.
“Jammu and Kashmir and all state legal services authorities should ensure that defence personnel, tribals and weaker sections of the society should get timely justice so that their lives improve and to protect their constitutional rights,” the LG said while addressing the conference.
The LG said that any delay in delivering justice defeats its purpose.
“Justice should not be delayed, because delay in justice results in defeat of faith. I hope this important conference will discuss the interventions needed to make the common people aware of their constitutional rights,” he said.
Sinha said his administration has taken three major initiatives in J-K to ensure ease of justice to the members of the armed forces and is committed to providing legal aid to the tribal community.
He referred to the establishment of the Lieutenant Governor’s Sainik Sahayta Kendra (LGSSK), a dedicated grievance redressal mechanism for personnel of the Indian Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
The initiative aims to address civilian grievances of soldiers either posted in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir or hailing from the region but serving elsewhere in India.
The LGSSK is designed as a single-window Soldiers’ Assistance and Liaison Cell, operating from the Civil Secretariat offices in both Jammu and Srinagar.
This institutional platform will streamline the process of receiving, assessing, and resolving grievances, ensuring timely and effective support for serving soldiers.
The Minister said that mechanisms for dedicated legal aid cells for tribal communities should be established.
At the start of his address, the minister paid tribute to the Kargil heroes on the occasion of the 26th Vijay Divas.
He also rendered a song praising Operation Sindoor, drawing applause from the audience.
“This programme is being held on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Divas and is also the biggest such programme after Operation Sindoor. We salute our armed forces. The armed forces have increased India’s pride and honour,” he said.
