Many infrastructure and systems are under severe stress in India. The swelling population seems to have overtaken and numbed them. Be it the deadly potholes on roads of certain metropolises, severe pollution levels/AQIs in northern states during winter, crumbling health/education infrastructure, absence of quality market-driven education leading to massive unemployment, lack of housing, garbage cleaning, disposal of solid wastes; the list goes on. Adding to the misery is the increasingly challenged justice delivery system. Always considered an important pillar of democracy, it seems to be at a crossroads. The legal system, largely a gift of the British, has come under increasing pressure of late. This, despite a rather healthy number of formal courts in India: –
As per the World Justice Project, WJP Open Government Index rankings, indicating openness, which are organised around dimensions of government openness: publicly available laws and government data, right to information, civic participation, and complaint mechanisms. Scoring is based on answers drawn from the general population and expert surveys. Sweden ranks 1st, followed by New Zealand, USA ranks 11th, and India is ranked 37th. This ranking out of about a hundred odd countries studied is not so bad. But some intrinsic systemic difficulties seem to plague the justice system in India. The much-flaunted ‘Rule of Law’ is also lowly ranked as far as India is concerned. The 2024 World Justice Project (WJP) Rule of Law Index ranks India 79th out of 142 countries. Regionally, India stands 3rd among South Asian countries, where Nepal ranks highest (69th globally), followed by Sri Lanka. These figures may be merely indicative but they speak volumes on the justice delivery system of India.
The time taken for delivery of justice is an issue across the cross-section of litigants. As per an annual report by a Chief Justice for the Delhi High Court, there is such a backlog of cases that it could take the court 466 years to clear. The court hears cases in an average time of four minutes and fifty-five seconds but has 700,000 cases waiting to be heard. The court has 629 civil cases and some 17 criminal cases pending, which are over twenty years old. The United Nations Development Programme reported the national backlog to be in the order of twenty million. The figures are daunting. Furthermore, there are significant vacancies of judges. Over 5,600 vacancies exist across various levels of the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, High Courts, and District Courts.
There are several reasons for these vacancies. Prominent include periodic retirements, the slow Collegium process, low salaries, and delays in lower court recruitment exams. The ‘Tarik pe Tarik syndrome’, so common in courts, has acquired an extraordinary dimension in India. Dates have become the bete noire of courts. Court craft, passovers, frequent requests for subsequent dates, mention by Senior Practitioners, etc., all add up to delay. So much so that many nowadays feel that resort to courts should come as a last resort. Strangely, despite such thinking, litigations are on a steep rise. As injustice perceived and real continues to grow in society, the demand for seeking justice is snowballing.
The justice system is simply unable to keep up with the fast pace of things. It’s also a fact that legal systems the world over tend to maintain conventions and traditions, but fissures do appear. The tremendous pressure which the judiciary in India faces is neither advisable nor healthy for any country’s system. The Indian judiciary has till now performed admirably. But it is being increasingly questioned. With politics and politicians continually attacking it, the common man gets confusing signals and tends to lose faith. Activists play an ever more aggressive role. By nature, Indian litigants want to keep trying their luck. forum hopping has become a norm, and criticising the judiciary is a fashion. Increased polarisation on religious, economic, living standards, linguistic, entitlements, loosening of family ties, adapting Western values, and general apathy towards law has added to the misery. Another aspect which tends to increase the number of undisposed cases is the frowning upon what is loosely termed as judicial activism. It’s also true that no judge would want his decision to be overturned, but excessive caution and ensuring an all-encompassing pronouncement takes time. The judiciary is called upon to even pronounce on matters which are in the domain of executive function. This has led many to quip that it’s the courts which are ruling this nation. Nothing can be far from the truth. The justice system has its work cut out and fully aware of it. Although prevailing social and cultural characteristics do have their own impact. The judiciary is carrying on doggedly, irrespective of the difficult, thorny path it has to tread on. Until the very approach to litigation alters, cosmetic changes will not bring in better results.
Without all-round legal reforms, both jurists and litigants are caught in a cleft stick. It’s all too easy to criticise. Dale Carnegie had rightly said – “Any fool can criticise, condemn, and complain, and most fools do.” Remaining on tom-foolery, NewsIP, wants to quote what’s available in the public domain, with absolutely no intention of any contempt. According to the case during hearing, it is believed that Justice Kuldip Singh enquired of the then Attorney General, G Ramaswamy, : “You think we are fools?” Mr. Ramaswamy sharply replied, “My Lords have put me in a very difficult situation. If I agree, I am in contempt; if I disagree, I commit perjury.”
