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Daily Updates | May 5, 2025

Justice on the Roadside: When a Telangana Judge Chose Empathy Over Procedure

It wasn’t your typical courtroom. No wooden benches, no echoing walls, no gavel pounding for silence. Just a patch of roadside in Bodhan, Telangana—and one elderly couple waiting for someone to hear them.

They had made it to court that day, dragging years of pain and a legal battle with them. But the stairs of the courthouse stood like a final barrier. Age and illness had taken their strength, and the building offered no help: no ramp, no lift—just steps. Steps they couldn’t climb.

What happened next wasn’t just unusual—it was extraordinary.

Instead of rescheduling the case or asking for medical certificates or formalities, Magistrate Sai Shiva did something profoundly simple: he walked outside.

There, under the open sky, he held court. A full hearing—legal, formal, binding—conducted on the roadside. And when he delivered the verdict in favor of the couple, it wasn’t just a legal outcome. It was a moment of dignity.

More Than a Gesture

This wasn’t a publicity stunt. And while it may have looked unconventional, it wasn’t outside the law either. There is no specific provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, that allows court proceedings outside traditional courtrooms. However, judges can act under their inherent powers, guided by the principle of access to justice.The Supreme Court has also recognized, through various judgments, the need for adaptability—like conducting hearings via video conferencing or on-site—for the sake of justice. Magistrate Shiva’s decision was not only lawful but deeply rooted in the spirit of inclusive justice.

And in doing so, he quietly exposed something many already know: our courts aren’t built for everyone.

The Harsh Reality

A 2019 Supreme Court committee report found that 60% of Indian courts don’t have ramps, and fewer than 1 in 5 have accessible toilets. This, despite the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which clearly mandates accessible public infrastructure—including courts.

So yes, this roadside courtroom was a beautiful moment. But it also raised a difficult question: Why should an elderly citizen have to rely on a rare act of judicial empathy just to be heard?

When Law Meets Humanity

There’s a kind of poetry in what happened that day. A legal system often criticized for delay and detachment showed that it could also bend gently when needed—not to break the rules, but to fulfill their spirit.

Because what is justice, really, if it can't reach the people who need it most?

The couple later said, “We felt heard for the first time.” And maybe that’s the real verdict of the day.

A Call—Not Just to Feel Good

This isn’t just a feel-good story to scroll past. It’s a reminder—and a call. To rethink how justice is delivered. To design courtrooms that serve all bodies, not just able ones. To train magistrates not just in law, but in the human experience of it.

Because justice shouldn’t have to climb stairs.