President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday said delay in court decisions in heinous crimes, like rape, forces the common man to think that the judicial process lacks sensitivity, even as she called for a change in ‘culture of adjournments’ in the judiciary.

She said longstanding pendency and backlog of cases is a big challenge before the judiciary.

“When court decisions in a heinous crime like rape come after a generation has passed, the common man feels that the judicial process lacks sensitivity,” Murmu said addressing the valedictory session of the two-day National Conference of District Judiciary.

The President said programmes such as special Lok Adalat week should be organised more frequently to clear the backlog.

All stakeholders have to find a solution by giving priority to this problem,” she said.

Murmu lamented that “in some cases, people with resources continue to roam around fearlessly and freely even after committing crimes.”

Those who suffer from their crimes live in fear as if they have committed some crime, she said.

She also pointed out that the poor from villages are afraid to go to court.

“They become a participant in the justice process of the court only under great compulsion. Often they tolerate injustice silently because they feel that fighting for justice can make their lives more miserable,” she said at the event held by the Supreme Court at Bharat Mandapam here.

For them, going away from the village to the court even once becomes a cause of great mental and financial pressure, she said.