Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya on Tuesday remarked that the women need to be respected more than they are to be worshiped..Upadhyaya was speaking at an event organized by the Delhi State Legal Services Authority (DSLSA) to celebrate the International Women's Day."Our dear compere started the function by narrating some portion of a Sanskrit shlok (verse) - yatra naryastu pujyante, ramante tatra devata (where women are respected, Gods make their home)... In my personal understanding, women need to be respected more than they are to be worshiped. That would be my request to all present here," Justice Upadhyaya said..He added that every single member in the society needs to change the very mindset when it comes to gender-related issues and shun the baggage of gender inequality."Now, if anyone sitting here asks me about my age, I would easily say I'm 50, 59-60 years of age. But actually, in fact, I am 2000 plus 59 years of age. The reason is that whatever has undergone in these 2000 years in the society, I carry this baggage with me, and therefore with the changing society, with the changing terms in the society. If you have to reach out to women and remove gender-related inequalities and other kinds of injustices, we need to shun whatever baggage we carry. Baggage of 2000 years behind our own growth.".If you have to reach out to women and remove gender-related inequalities and other kinds of injustices, we need to shun whatever baggage we carry.Delhi High Court Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya.Justice Upadhyaya also called upon people to come out of their denial mode and recognise the existence of the problem."These kinds of injustices prevalent in the society. They keep on happening in our presence, in front of us, before us, but we remain, many a times in a denial mode. So that denial mode has to be shunned. We have to come out of it, recognize the problem, and then only we'll be able to sort it out. And this denial mode happens only because we carry a baggage," he said.He added,"We all hail from very different backgrounds, different backgrounds of our education, different backgrounds of our society where we are born, different background of our schools. Every one of us comes from a different culture. We speak different language, different dialects of the same language, so these things constitute our psyche. So that needs to be first of all addressed, that we have to change our mindset only then we will be able to achieve the gender justice, or we'll be able to remove all kinds of injustices based in the society on gender."In his concluding remarks, Justice Upadhyaya stressed that the recognition of International Women's Day and celebration must not remain a ritual alone..Supreme Court judge Justice KV Viswanathan, who was the Chief Guest at the event, said gender equality is yet to be fully achieved. The advantages that men have are not there for women, he said.Justice Viswanathan also highlighted that women face a lot of challenges in accessing legal services."Firstly, there are regional disparities in the availability and reach of these services. In rural areas, urban centers tend to have better accessibility, leaving rural women at a disadvantage. Secondly, lack of awareness, coupled with low legal literacy, hinders women from seeking assistance even when services are available," he said. The judge added that social stigma, cultural norms and fear of repression also discourage women from reporting incidents and seeking legal assistance. "Additionally, bureaucratic hurdles and complex legal processes act as deterrence, making it challenging for women to navigate the legal system. Lastly, insufficient resources, understaffing and inadequate training of personnel impact the ability of legal aid organizations to provide timely legal aid," he further said.Justice Viswanathan also disclosed that Chief Justice Upadhyaya wanted him to also speak about the implementation of Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act (PCPNDT Act)."If you are wondering why the Chief Justice after his speech, leaned over twice, and what was he whispering to me? He wanted me to convey, at least to the judicial officers, first in Delhi and all over the nation, that the effectiveness of the enforcement of the PCPNDT Act has to be reinforced... Chief Justice rightly feels that the enforcement leaves much to be desired. He mentioned to me that both in Bombay and in Allahabad and Delhi, he finds that prosecutions are few and far between. And so that is one area which we all feel, that the Chief Justice strongly feels rightly, that it has to be emphasized," he said.
