A One Day Conference on Development of Judicial Skills for Civil Judges (Junior Division), 2022 Batch was organized today at Judicial Training & Research Institute, U.P. with the objective of strengthening professional competence, ethical orientation, judicial sensitivity, and technological awareness among newly inducted judicial officers of the State Judiciary.
The inaugural session, held at Nalanda Auditorium of the Institute, was graced by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vikram Nath as the Chief Guest and Hon’ble Mrs. Justice B.V. Nagarathna as the Guest of Honour. The august gathering was also attended by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arun Bhansali, Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court and Patron-in-Chief, JTRI; Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi, Senior Judge, Allahabad High Court and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajan Roy, Senior Judge, Allahabad High Court at Lucknow and Chairman, Supervisory Committee, JTRI.
The programme commenced with the arrival of the Hon’ble dignitaries and ceremonial Guard of Honour, followed by lighting of the ceremonial lamp.
Delivering the welcome address, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rajan Roy emphasized that judicial education is a continuous process and that newly recruited judicial officers must strive to cultivate fairness, patience, discipline, humility, and commitment towards constitutional values. He observed that the role of a judicial officer extends beyond adjudication and requires constant learning, empathy, and institutional responsibility.
In his address, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Mahesh Chandra Tripathi highlighted the significance of judicial ethics and sensitivity in day-to-day judicial functioning. He stated that judicial officers must always remain conscious of the faith reposed in them by society and should discharge their duties with integrity, impartiality, and compassion. He also underlined that the young officers must maintain patience and fairness while dealing with the advocates.
Addressing the gathering, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Arun Bhansali, Chief Justice, Allahabad High Court stressed the growing importance of judicial skills in the modern justice delivery system. He observed that justice is not merely an application of law but it an application of law with wisdom, integrity and empathy. He also emphasized that the effective administration of justice requires not only sound knowledge of law but also effective court management, communication skills, technological adaptability, and a humane approach while dealing with litigants.
Hon’ble Mrs. Justice B.V. Nagarathna, Judge, Supreme Court of India, in her enlightening address, emphasized that the young judicial officers have important responsibility of maintaining faith of the people in judicial system. Her Ladyship said that impartiality and independence of the hallmark of a good judge. She observed that judicial officers should work with punctuality, probity and patience.
Delivering the keynote address, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vikram Nath, Judge, Supreme Court of India, personally interacted with young judicial officers of 2022 batch. He remarked that the judicial officers should dispense justice in such a way that the judicial officer shall be remembered even after the transfer. A judicial officers should pause, think and then decide. The young officers after getting selected should not become complacent but should continue their hard work.
The inaugural session concluded with a formal gesture of gratitude, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Ms. Rekha Agnihotri, Director, JTRI.
Thereafter, the Hon’ble dignitaries inaugurated the newly established ‘Aryabhatta’ Computer Lab situated in the Training Wing of the Institute. The lab has been established with the objective of strengthening digital and technological training facilities for judicial officers.
Thereafter, four technical sessions were conducted during the course of the programme. The first technical session, titled “Judgment-Writing: An Art and A Science,” was delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Atul Sreedharan, Judge, Allahabad High Court and Member, Supervisory Committee, JTRI. His Lordship emphasized that judicial officers should endeavour to write judgments in simple, clear, and comprehensible language and should avoid the use of complicated or difficult expressions unless necessitated by the facts and circumstances of the case.
The second technical session was delivered by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ajay Bhanot, Judge, Allahabad High Court and Member, Supervisory Committee, JTRI, on the topic “Biases in Decision-Making.” His Lordship highlighted the importance of judicial self-awareness and observed that judicial officers must remain conscious of their inherent biases and heuristics so as to ensure impartial, fair, and objective adjudication.
The third technical session on the topic “Nuances of Court Craft vis-à-vis Members of the Bar” focused upon the importance of maintaining judicial decorum, patience, and balanced conduct while interacting with members of the Bar. During the session, emphasis was laid upon the need for judicial officers to uphold the dignity of the institution through courteous behaviour, effective courtroom management, and harmonious professional relations with advocates while, at the same time, ensuring firm adherence to judicial discipline and procedural fairness.
The fourth technical session pertained to “Reflections on Induction Training & the Journey Ahead” and also included feedback from the participating judicial officers. During the session, the officers shared their experiences and challenges faced while discharging duties as Presiding Officers and expressed their views regarding the utility and effectiveness of the induction training programme.
The programme was compered by the Deputy Directors of the Institute. The conference was attended by Registrar General, Senior Registrar and other members of Registry of Allahabad High Court, Principal Secretary (Law & LR), Government of UP, faculty members and officers of the Institute and judicial officers of Civil Judges (Junior Division), 2022 Batch from various districts of Uttar Pradesh.
