World Day of Social Justice is observed annually on February 20. It was established by the United Nations (UN) to promote social justice, including efforts to tackle poverty, inequality, unemployment, and human rights violations worldwide.

‘Justice’ which has been equated with ‘DHARMA’ in our Shastra is the basis of entire universe. In every system of law, it has been given a supreme place. In fact, it is the fundamental law which governs our life and whenever there is any deviation from this basic law there is likelihood of crisis.  Today, all the civilised societies are engaged in the joint endeavours to secure justice as there are countless injustice done from man to man.

We need social justice to create a fair and equitable society where everyone has access to opportunities, resources, and rights, regardless of their background. It ensures that all people, regardless of race, gender, class, or ability, have equal access to opportunities and resources. Social justice protects basic human rights, such as education, healthcare, and fair wages, ensuring dignity for all. By addressing systemic inequalities, social justice helps lift people out of poverty and creates economic stability.

Unlike justice in the broad sense, social justice is a relatively recent concept, born of the struggles surrounding the industrial revolution and the advent of socialist (and later, in some parts of the world, social democratic and Christian democratic) views on the organization of society. It is a concept rooted very tenuously in the Anglo-Saxon political culture. It does not appear in the Charter, or in the Universal Declaration or the two International Covenants on Human Rights. Frequently referred to in the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development in 1995.

 Overall, the current scenario highlights the complex nature of social justice in India, where government programs strive to address historical inequalities by actively working to improve the lives of marginalized communities through initiatives like enhancing educational access, which is a crucial step towards achieving social mobility and equality. At present, nearly 19,000 judges, including 18,000 in trial courts, are dealing with a pendency of 3 crore cases, resulting in a civil case lasting for nearly 15 years.25   In fact, more than 30 million cases are now pending with different courts of India and the number of such inconclusive cases in 24 High Courts has mounted up to 3. 85 million. The accumulation of such pending cases points out that our judicial system is collapsing day by day losing faith of the people. 

Social justice is not possible without strong and coherent redistributive policies conceived and implemented by public agencies. It is necessary that the two other organs of state, i.e., the Governors and the administration should make it a common cause by joining hands with the judiciary on the principle of cooperation, mutual respect and good will.