The document discusses the issue of delays in India's judicial system and the large backlog of pending cases. It notes that over 3 million cases are pending in India's high courts and Supreme Court. It analyzes several causes of delays, including understaffing of judges, frequent adjournments, and lack of infrastructure. The document proposes solutions like increasing the number of judges, implementing alternative dispute resolution methods, establishing dedicated courts, and leveraging technology to expedite case disposal. However, it also notes challenges in implementing the solutions like lack of infrastructure, coordination issues, and inadequate legal education.
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EDEN IAS - WEEKLY CURRENT ROUND-UP 24 June 2018EDEN IAS
According to Black’s law dictionary, Police is the function of that branch of the administrative machinery of government
which is charged with the preservation of public order and tranquility, the promotion of the public health, safety, and
morals, and the prevention, detection, and punishment of crimes.
Vajiram and Ravi - Current-affair- Magazine November 2021Vajiram Ravi
Vajiram & Ravi has introduced a new monthly current affairs magazine of November 2021 called ‘The Recitals’, which approaches current affairs through question and answers. ‘The Recitals’ deciphers current affairs in different section necessary for Prelims Current Affairs through Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Mains Current Affairs Question & Answers and Interview Current Affairs. The current affairs magazine does not merely provide information, but focuses on the analysis on current issues necessary for the exam.
2. PROBLEM STATEMENT
• The judicial system is the corner stone of India's democratic polity. India being the largest democracy in the world with lengthiest written constitution with a soul spirit,
characterized in its preamble, advocating various goals. Justice is one of goal.
• The delay in the disposal of cases, which leads to accumulation of more and more case and this results in further delay.
CAUSES OF THE PROBLEM
• Over 3 million cases are pending in India's 21 high court and 67,964 in hon’ble Supreme court.
• India in 2004, we had 11 judges per million population.
• The supreme court of India itself has 189 holidays in 2009 with just 176 working days with only 24 judges sitting at present.
• Every high court hears cases approx. for five hours and 15 minutes a day, and is open for 213 working days a year.
• Judiciary is no longer attracting the best legal talent because of disparity in the income of bright young lawyers and the emoluments of judicial officers.
• Radical change in the pattern of litigation.
• Delays in filling up vacancies in high courts.
• Lack of priority for disposal of old cases.
• Granting of unnecessary adjournments.
3. REASONS FOR SELECTING A SPECIFIC CAUSE(S)
• The vast number of cases pending in the supreme court as well as the other lower courts has defeated the very purpose of the judicial system.
• Law ceases to have a deterrent effect, as the like minded people continue to indulge in the criminal activities.
• People do not have faith and criminals do not have fear of judiciary due to delay in justice system.
Consequently:
• Murder in india occurs every 13 minutes – 106 murders in every 24 hrs - if all accused are arrested, 100 out of 106 will be acquitted
• Crime becomes a high profit, low risk business,
• 37 rapes in 24 hrs – if all rapists are arrested, 35 out of 37 will be acquitted
• Corruption gallops and enters all fields:
• Food adulteration—vegetables, pulses, milk—crossed danger level
• Pharmaceutical adulteration
• Piracy in films, music, automobiles parts and branded goods jumps to 9,000 crores Counterfeiting
• Recruitment scandals galore
• Education, health, judiciary, police, reek of corruption, etc.
4. PROPOSED SOLUTION & IMPLEMENTATIONS
• Amendment of section 80 and Order V of CPC
and also the concerned Court’s Rules, In order to
shorten delay.
• If the government officer finds that the suit
proposed to be filed is just a claim he needs to
take immediate action thereby avoiding
unnecessary litigation by settling the claim.
Amendments in
procedural laws
• Lok Adalats should be organized frequently to
solve matters which can be solved by merely
giving compensation.
• Alternative dispute resolution methods should be
adopted.
• The Fast Track Courts shall grant priority to the
clearance of oldest sessions cases and the cases
involving under trials in dungeons
• Evening courts for dealing minor offences e.g.
summary trail cases, case u/s 125.
More Lok Adalats,
ADR, Fast Track
Courts, Evening
courts
• In Sessions cases, if there are inordinate delays
attributable to the parties, and the ADJs trying
the case feel helpless, the concerned Judge,
firstly inform the DSP/SSP, then shall send up
the report to the High Court for necessary
action.
• A Special Cell in the High Court exclusively for
old pending Sessions cases.
• On the report received from the District Judge,
quarterly should take necessary measures on the
Changes in
Subordinate judiciary
• In India, not many students aspire to take legal field
as their profession and reason being the traditional
notion of parents regarding law as dull and
uncertain. So, there is need of sensitization in legal
education and for subordinate judiciary so that more
and more person would join.
• Measures like making judicial services more
lucrative by high salaries, perks to be given to
subordinate judicial posts.
• By improving the standard of law universities,
faculties thereof so that more competent student
should pass out. By this there would not be any
dearth for filling up competent persons to the
judicial services.
Sensitization of
legal education
& profession
• The management of the Courts should be
modernized.
• In order to attract persons of the right caliber to the
judicial cadre, we must improve their service
conditions, particularly of the trial court judges.
Modernized
courts,
• Dedicated bail court
• Dedicated summons Court
• Centralized registry
• Only ripe cases listed before sessions court - not
more than five in a day – 2 for charge and 2 for
evidence – time for spill over
• Once session trial begins it must be heard day to day
till concluded
• Non-availability of witnesses or counsel – no ground
for adjournment
Dedicated
courts
5. PROPOSED SOLUTION & IMPLEMENTATIONS CONT.
• Increase in the number of Judicial Officers will have to
be accompanied by proportionate increase in the
number of court rooms.
• The existing court buildings, amenities are grossly
inadequate to meet even the existing requirements and
their condition particularly in small towns is pathetic.
• In order to ensure that the new buildings meet all the
requirements of the courts and their officers, it is
desirable to prepare standard building plans and
construct buildings accordingly.
• In order to provide information to the litigants it is
necessary to have facilitation center's in each court
complex which should be manned by competent court
officers and should be linked to the computer network.
Augmenting
infrastructure
• There should be, wherever possible, conversion of case
related documents into online files so that judges can
have easy and fast access to them when required, and
also provide access code to the parties.
• Use of computer technology should be increase by leap
and bound to expedite the disposal of cases without
compromising with the authenticity of documents.
Justice and
technology
• Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 is an Act of Parliament of
India enacted for establishment of Gram Nyayalayas or
village courts for speedy and easy access to justice
system in the rural areas of India.
• Due to the sluggish work of government till now only
151 functional Gram Nyayalayas in the country are
working against target of 5000. (as of 20012 May)
Gram
Nyayalayas
Jurisdiction of supreme court should be divided in two.
1.Court of Appeal for matters which involve substantial question of law.
2. Constitutional court should take matters of constitutional importance and
interpretation of constitution.
6. IMPACT OF THE SOLUTION
• Firstly, with the implementation of proposed solution intended, impact would be in reduction of pending cases in courts of law and thereby firming the believe of general public in
court.
• After 67 years of independence, people still awaiting speedy and expeditious justice as enunciated in the preamble.
• Fast disposal of cases will itself generate deterrent effect of various laws in the mind of potential offenders.
• Most significant impact of proposed solution would be balanced administration of justice irrespective of class, rank, financial status of parties by prolonged court proceedings.
• In any civilized country judiciary is just like a balancing arm balancing interests of parties involved, our proposal would be successful if any how cases start disposing within
reasonable time.
• The most essential feature of any government system is transparency; therefore there is a need of transparency in the subordinate judiciary to reduce judge-clerk-lawyer
arrangement, as monitoring mechanism.
• Bar council of India should cautiously grant affiliation to new law colleges so as to mitigate the risk of fake and incompetent colleges
7. CURRENT NUMBER OF JUDGES IN INDIA ARE 15.4 PER
MILLION WHICH SHOULD BE 50 PER MILLION IN ORDER TO
AVOID DELAY IN JUSTICE AND BACKLOG OF CASES.
8. CHALLENGES RISK
AND MITIGATING FACTORS TO THE PROPOSED SOLUTION
• Infrastructure.
• Effective human resource.
• Co-ordination between
Legislative/Executive/Judiciary.
• Legal education and law collages.
Challenges
• Government cannot foresee the viability of funding
this model.
• Young law graduates are not interested in serving the
bar and bench.
• Standard of legal education does not qualify the
requisites of this model.
Risk
Mitigating
Factors• Adjournment Policy.
• Punctuality of the lawyers, magistrates and judges.
• Inadequate Standard of subordinate judiciary.
• Judicial accountability.
• Lack of funds.
• Frequent changes in procedural and substantive laws.
• Frequent changes in benches.
• No fixed subject matter of judges.
9. REFERENCES
http://lawcommissionofindia.nic.in/reports/report221.pdf
http://www.judicialreform.in/forums/
221 report law commission of india
http://ncrb.gov.in/
http://ncrb.gov.in/CD-CII2012/cii-2012/figure%20at%20a%20glance.pdf
Constitution of india
Civil procedure code 1908
Gram nayalya act 2008
www.manupatra.com
www.jstor.com
http://supremecourtofindia.nic.in/pendingstat.htm
http://indiandemocracy08.berkeley.edu/docs/Menon-LawANDJustice-
ALook%20.pdf
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-01-
17/india/36393546_1_crore-cases-judges-per-million-population-civil-case