India Needs Humane, Well-equipped Judiciary: PM

New Delhi, Aug 19 (UNI) Acknowledging growing concerns over litigation costs and lack of probity in ''some sections of the judiciary,'' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for ''a humane and a well-equipped judiciary.'' Inaugurating the 1st All India Interdepartmental Cooperation Dialogue and Meeting on Social Justice, Dr Singh stressed making ''our justice delivery system more sensitive to the needs of the poorest of our people.'' ''Sensitising each of the institutions of our democracy to the needs and concerns of the under-privileged is one of our top policy priorities,'' Dr Singh told the conference presided over by India's Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal.

''For this we need a more efficient and more effective judicial machinery. A humane and a well-equipped judiciary. This is the responsibility of each of the pillars of our democracy-- the executive, the legislature and the judiciary itself.

''I assure you that our Government will extend full support to the judiciary to realise these shared objectives of good governance,'' he said.

''Our Government believes that democracy has no meaning for the citizens unless the citizen is able to secure his basic human rights, namely education, employment and the right to live a life of dignity and self-respect.'' The meet, sponsored by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), was also attended by Law and Justice Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj, Justice K G Balakrishnan, who is Supreme Court Legal Services Committee Chairman, and other senior Judges, Chief Ministers and legal luminaries.

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