25 Aug
Why in news?
Recently a joint conference was conducted between the Chief Justices and Chief Ministers of the states at New Delhi to discuss the various aspects of Judiciary. Also, the Vice President commented that the inordinate delay, cost of legal process, inaccessibility is impending the effective delivery of justice to the common man.
Introduction
Judiciary plays a vital role in making sure that the fundamental principles of the Constitution are in check. It is the guardian of the Indian Constitution, a watch dog of rule of law and a protector of rights.
Citizens of India have immense trust and confidence in the Judiciary. In order to uphold the faith of people and to discharge its duties especially in an accessible and affordable manner a major reform is needed.
Challenges faced by Judiciary
- Case Pendency and delay in
In 2010, Justice VB Rao of Andhra Pradesh High Court said that at least 320 years are required to clear the pending cases which account to about 31.28 million. In such a scenario, it takes time to give justice.
With reference to the National Judicial Data Grid, the states with more case pendency are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Gujarat.
- Less number of Judges v/s Appointment issues.
According to a 2012 ‘National Court Management’ report by the Supreme Court, it was found that the cases are
increasing by 12 folds while judges are appointed only by 6-fold thus creating a wide gap.
The Executive that is the President is the appointment authority of Judges. But the names to be appointed are suggested by the collegiums. If the President does not approve the name suggested by the collegiums, how can the judge be appointed?
- Lack of Transparency in
Indian Judiciary lacks transparency in the appointment of judges. This also will lead to the delay in filling the vacancies.
- Less number of working
Frequent adjournments and strikes by the lawyers can lead to procedural delays which ultimately leads case pendency.
- Lack of Funds.
Only 0.09% of the GDP is spent for judicial infrastructure. The judicial expenditure is charged on the Consolidated Fund of India. Only 0.1% of the Union Budget goes to Ministry of Law and Justice since 2003. The 127th Law Commission in its report ‘Resource Allocation for Infrastructural Services’ in Judicial Administration’ made an important observation that most of the governments did not view administration of justice as an important activity which is why less funds were allocated for the same.
- Lack of proper
As a result of fund deficiency, the judicial infrastructure remains below the standards.
For 24,280 judicial officers, there are only 20,143 court halls with 620courts working in rented halls.
- Only 32% of the courts have separate record
- Only 5% of the courts have emergency medical
- Only 54% of the courts have purified drinking water
- Only 26% of the courts have sanitation facility for women in the court
- Only 60% of the courts have Gent’s toilet in the vicinity of the
- Lack of use of IT and Artificial
With only 20% of the courts having computer in usable form, our judiciary has a serious lack of use of technology.
- Complex Court
The complex court process and one Supreme Court at the capital make it difficult for the poor and illiterate to the access justice.
- Ineffectiveness of
The ineffectiveness of Judiciary is a reason to some extent for the increasing cases of rape, robbery, murder and so on.
- Corruption
Corruption need not be always in financial terms. Misuse of power by those in a responsible position owing to various influences and personal benefits is also corruption.
- Costly Justice
The cost of various judicial procedures will pull back the poor people from approaching the courts. For instance, to avail a bail, a sum of Forty thousand along with a personal bond of Fifty Thousand is to be paid.
- Increasing awareness of Rights
In the current scenario, citizens are more aware of their rights and a case or Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is filed more frequently. A combination of more cases in the absence of enough judges will worsen the case pendency issue.
What can be done to combat these issues?
- Strengthening of Lower Courts
The Courts at the lower level can be strengthened through appropriate funding and redressal mechanism.
- Alternate dispute Resolution mechanism
The constitution of Lok Adalats can make justice accessible to all there by guaranteeing Article 14 and 39A of the Indian Constitution.
- Improving Gram Nyayalayas
In 2009 Gram Nyayalayas were set up to reduce the burden on courts which can deal with both petty criminal cases as well as civil cases. The working of the lower-level courts can be improved by providing the needed support by the government.
- Article 312 provides for the creation of All India Judicial
All India judicial Services can be created and judicial officers who come into service can provide for the effective resolution of case pendency.
- Formation of National Judicial Infrastructure Authority (NJIA) of India
One of the crucial issues that Indian Judiciary faces is lack of basic infrastructure. The creation of NJAI can effectively solve this issue. NJAI can also look into the allocation and use of fund for bettering the infrastructural standards.
Adequate land must also be allocated by the state governments to establish enough courts and vertical construction can be considered in case of space constraints.
- Keeping a time frame rule
A particular specific time frame such as a maximum of 60 days can be allocated to resolve and dispose a case.
Improving the pace of justice delivery will also significantly improve India’s position in ease of doing business.
- Setting up of National Court of Appeal
The Attorney General of India proposed for the setting up of National Court of Appeal. The Supreme Court deals with all issues relating to the Constitution, Fundamental Rights and original Jurisdiction. The remaining appeals can be addressed at appeal courts like Supreme Court which can be set up in the 4 parts of India and 60 more judges can be appointed extra to reduce the burden.
- Issuance of Fast Track Courts
The recommendations by the 11th Finance Commission suggests for the creation of 1734 fast track courts. These courts can be an effective tool in clearing the back log of pending cases.
- Simplification of Court Processes
Regional languages instead of English alone can be promoted thus making the courts more people friendly and accessible.
- Effective use of Information Technology (IT)
IT can be used to effectively conduct forensic investigation thereby providing enough evidence to the courts to give the most appropriate judgement.
Use of IT can deliver justice on a faster rate. It is found that even in the medical field, Artificial Intelligence is used to assist the doctors. The same can be used for assisting judicial officers as well. More e- Courts can also be promoted which will help in resolving the issue of need for litigants and also facilitate the adjudication of cases online. E- Courts are guided by the e- committee under the Supreme Court of India and was conceptualized by the ICT (Information and Communication Technology).
- Improving the effectiveness of the Judiciary
A Performance Committee can be constituted to look into the issue of effectiveness and performance with appropriate powers to take action.
- Making it more Affordable
The fee structure needs to be modified in order to make the judicial system affordable to everyone.
Conclusion
“A rule that cannot be bent will certainly be broken”-Robert Brault.
A continuous assessment of the judiciary is necessary for bringing in more appropriate reforms to make it more accessible, affordable and accountable because, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ which stands against the true essence of our constitution, especially the Judiciary being the Guardian of Indian constitution. Ease of access being the prime concern and if it is addressed appropriately with smart digitization, the current issues in the judiciary can be solved to an extent.
Practice Question
Judicial infrastructure is critical in ease of doing justice. Critically examine the role of lower judiciary in this context.
(150 Words, 10 Marks)
