Jawaharlal Nehru, on the afternoon of March 19, 1955, while addressing the members of the Punjab High Court

at the inauguration of its new building in Chandigarh, said, Justice in ndia should be sim!le, s!eed" and chea!#$ He remar%ed that litigation was a disease and it could not be a good thing to allow an" disease to s!read and then go out in search of doctors# &eferring to an adage that Justice 'ela"ed is Justice 'enied$, Pt# Nehru stressed that dis!osal of cases must not be dela"ed# Securing Justice ( )ocial, *conomic and Political to all citi+ens is one of the %e" mandates of the ndian Constitution# ,his has been e-!licitl" made so in .rticle /9 ( . of the Constitution that directs the state to secure e0ual justice and free legal aid for all its citi+ens#$ 1ut the e-!erience of last 52 "ears shows that the state has failed to dis!ense 0uic%, ine-!ensi3e justice to !rotect the rights of the !oor and the 3ulnerable# Hon4ble Justice 1#P# )ingh, a ser3ing Judge of the Hon4ble )u!reme court s!o%e on the to!ic Justice 'ela"ed is Justice 'enied5 the Plight of ndian Poor$ at 6bser3er &esearch 7oundation and said that the situation toda" is so grim that if a !oor is able to reach to the stage of Hon4ble High Court, it should be considered as an achie3ement# t has merel" become a court of the rich#$ ,he justice deli3er" s"stem is on the 3erge of colla!se with more than /8 million cases clogging the s"stem# ,here are cases that ta%e so much time that e3en a generation is too short to get an" t"!e of redressal# . brief loo% at some of the judicial statistics would tell the true stor" of the state of justice in ndia toda"5 9 6n an a3erage, 58 la%h crimes are registered e3er"da", which are sought to be in3estigated b" the !olice# ,he !endenc" of criminal cases in subordinate courts is in the region of 1#/: crores and the effecti3e strength of judges is 1:,122# ; ,he number of under ( trials in criminal cases !ending in the courts is 1#<< crores and of these o3er : la%h !ersons are in !rison# ; 6n an a3erage, Courts are able to dis!ose off 19= of !ending cases e3er" "ear# ,he reasons for dela" could be attributed to the fact that e3er" case mo3es from the lowest to the highest le3el# ,oo man" re3isions, bails, a!!lications ma%e fi3e cases of one# ,he Centre and the )tate >o3ernments also contribute to the bac%log# Not onl" is the >o3t# the biggest litigant but also it creates fresh litigation because it doesn4t honour judicial decisions# .nother obstacle to s!eed" justice is adjournments# .s far as the situation in )ubordinate Courts is concerned, the infrastructure is non e-istent and at times the judges ha3e to write judgments with their own hands as the" don4t ha3e stenos# *3er" subordinate judge is caught between o!!ressi3e wor%load and hardl" an" time or facilities# Constitution which mandates that the state shall secure that the o!eration of the legal s"stem shall !romote justice, on a basis of e0ual o!!ortunit" and shall ensure that o!!ortunities for securing justice are not denied to an" citi+en# ,he Judiciar" is bound to sha!e the !rocesses of the law to actuali+e the constitutional resol3e to secure e0ual justice to all# . !eo!le who are illiterate b" and large, indigent in no small measure, feudal in their wa" of life, and tribal and bac%ward in large numbers, need an uncon3entional cadre of

jurists and judges, if e0ual justice under the law is to be a realit"# f there is breach, judicial !ower must offer effecti3e shelter# *3en if a legislation hurting or ham!ering the bac%ward sector is !assed, the higher courts ha3e to declare the statute 3oid, if it be contra9 constitutional# n sum, the judicial !rocess, in its functional fulfillment, must be at once a shield and sword in defending the ha3e9nots when injustice afflicts them# .nd this must be !ossible e3en if the humbler fol%, directl" aggrie3ed, are too wea% to mo3e the court on their own and a sociall" sensiti3e agenc" ad3ocates the cause# )ecuring justice 9 social, economic and !olitical to all citi+ens is one of the %e" mandates of the ndian Constitution# ,his has been e-!licitl" made so in the .rticle /99. of the Constitution that directs the )tate 9 to secure e0ual justice and free legal aid for the citi+ens# 1ut the e-!eriences of last 52 "ears show that the )tate has failed s0uarel" on addressing some 3er" basic issues990uic% and ine-!ensi3e justice and !rotecting the rights of !oor and the 3ulnerable# ,he justice deli3er" s"stem is on the 3erge of colla!se with more than /8 million cases clogging the s"stem# ,here are cases that ta%e so much of time that e3en a generation is too short to get an" t"!e of redressal#

,hat it will ta%e more than /88 "ears to clear the bac%log of cases in ndian courts is !roof enough that our criminal justice s"stem is sic%, stagnant and in urgent need of a com!lete o3erhaul# . committee was set u!, a cou!le of "ears ago, under Justice ? ) Malimath to e-amine changes and its re!ort came, coincidentall", at the time that justice was finall" done in the @!haar Cinema case and just before the fourth anni3ersar", Jessica Aal4s horrific murder# 1oth cases draw attention, in different wa"s, to the glaring flaws in our justice s"stem# n the @!haar case it is shoc%ing that it too% ten "ears to establish that the 59 !eo!le died because of criminal negligence on the !art of the cinema management and the 'elhi go3ernment# t was clear from da" one that nobod" would ha3e died had the cinema followed safet" rules but because the wheels of ndian justice mo3e at the !ace of our national 3ehicle 9 the bulloc% cart 9 it too% ten "ears for justice to be done# Causes of Delay:Delay in disposition of cases9 'ue to huge !endenc", the cases ta%e "ears for its final dis!osal, which would normall" ta%e few months time# ,he arrears cause dela" and dela" means negating the accessibilit" of justice in true terms to the common man# ,he 3er" core of a ci3il societ" and rule of law is the !ro3ision of justice, but the decision must be deli3ered within a reasonable time# t is totall" unfair if a sus!ected criminal waits for trial for "ears and is ultimatel" found innocent# )imilarl", the 3ictim of the crime will be also not satisfied if there is no !unishment to the criminal for so long# 6nl" s!eed" justice could ensure effecti3e maintenance of Aaw and order# Bualit" of justice not onl" !romotes !eace in the societ" but also strengthens internal securit" of the countr"# ,here are number of litigations which could be a3oided if >o3t# officials had ta%en interest, for e#g# section C8 of CPC re0uire a !rior notice of two months to >o3t# b" a !art" who wish to sue the >o3t# ,he !ur!ose of this section is to gi3e time to >o3t# to settle the matter with such !art" b" ta%ing !ro!er and suitable action, and thereb" could a3oid unwanted and unnecessar" litigation# 1ut the utter failure of >o3t# official in ta%ing a 0uic%, bold and suitable action ins!ite of gi3ing time forces a !erson to file case#

)trength of Judges are inade0uate according to !o!ulation and bunch of cases# .s of Januar" :885, !ending cases in the )u!reme Court number /8,888, in high courts o3er //#29 la%h and in subordinate courts o3er :#/5 crore 9 a totall" unacce!table situation# Much of this is due to shortage of judges# ,he ratio of judges to !o!ulation is 18#5 to one million, the lowest in the world# *3en this low le3el is not reached because of the accumulation of 3acancies in the 1enches 91<8 against the a!!ro3ed strength of DDC judges in high courts and :888 against 15888 in subordinate courts#< ,he infrastructure of the lower courts is 3er" disa!!ointing# ,hough, the )u!reme Court and High Courts are ha3ing good infrastructure but this in not the same !osition with lower courts# ,he Courts ha3e no con3enient building or !h"sical facilities# ,he e-ecuti3e has failed to !ro3ide necessar" infrastructure to enable judiciar" and function normall"# >ood librar", re0uisite furniture, sufficient staff and reasonable s!ace are the need of the 0ualitati3e justice# n some courts securit" s"stems is also not good# ,he legal !rofession is one of the most struggling !rofession but no social securit" scheme is a3ailable for law"ers, some financial aid should be !ro3ided to 1ar associations or the new beginners b" the go3ernment# ,he good wor%ing condition of the law"ers would hel! in the e-cellence of ser3ice and 0ualitati3e justice to the litigating !ublic# Competency of the Other Staff in Court 5 t should also be %e!t in mind that not onl" Judges and .d3ocates be com!etent but also the administrati3e and clerical staff# ,he clerical staff must be free from all t"!e of corru!tion# ,his is the era of com!uteri+ation# ,he highl" technical and com!etiti3e clerical staff will also hel! in s!eed" course# Ee all %now how much time is ta%en in getting merel" a co!" of the judgmentF t is hard that mone" is used to s!eed u! the !rocess# ,he bribe gi3er does not wish, to get an"thing done unlawfull", but merel" wants to s!eed u! the !rocess of mo3ement of files and communication relating to decision# Certain sections of staff concerned do wor% onl" after ta%ing mone"# Investigative agencies generally delay 5 ,he in3estigation of crime t is generall" heard that the accused gets bail as the in3estigating agenc" failed to submit charge sheet within statutor" !eriod# ,he combination of se3eral functions, such as crime in3estigation, riot control, intelligence gathering, and securit" of ? Ps b" a single !olice force has a de3astating effect on the criminal justice s"stem# Nowada"s, the crime in3estigation is not immune from the !artisan !olitics# ,he !ower of the go3ernment to dro! criminal charges against the accused has further abused it# ,he lethargic !olice in3estigation is also a ground of slow !rocess of law# Consider the condition of the !oor 3ictims of 1ho!al gas Aea% disaster, which too% a toll of 15888 !eo!le# ,went" "ears had !assed to that ghastl" incidentG still now 3ictims were fighting for its com!ensation, which fails to measure u! the damage caused to them# Consider the terrible situation occurred in .ugust 1991 as massacre of 'alits at ,sundur in .ndhra Pradesh# 1/ "ears had !assed to that incident, the families of the 3ictims of ,sundur, still await justice for those who died# ,he" sa", the" will not find an" !eace until the guilt" are !unished for their crime# Consider the condition of those girls who were brutall" gang ra!ed during the >odhra riots in front of their hel!less famil" members# Consider the 3ictims of 1est 1a%er" case who still awaits justice to be dis!ensed in their fa3our but the clima- starts with the %e" witness in the case turned hostile and the entire fate of the 1a%er" case is in turmoil# ,oda" the 3ictims of the all the abo3e9enumerated cases %now full well that the !rice of truth is e-tremel" high#

Still they are waiting But for what? Whether all these amounts to justice?

Remedies to Overcome Delay (Suggestions) # ,al%ing about the strategies to deal with justice dela", an im!ro3ed justice deli3er" s"stem means cutting down the number of adjournments, reducing the time for arguments, %ee!ing a chec% on re3iew !etitionsH fri3olous !etitions, sto!!ing law"ers e-tending cases and so on#

Punishments should be 3er" stringent and the im!lementing authorities should be tough so that crime comes down automaticall"# # Aaw"ers should encourage out of Court settlements# ?# n case a law"er looses a certain number of cases, his license should be sus!ended for sometime so that law"ers refrain from ta%ing u! fri3olous cases# ?# >o3t# 6fficials should be made !ersonall" liable for la!ses so that cases against the >o3t# are reduced# ? # ,he number of a!!eals to be filed for each categor" of case should be fi-ed# *3er" litigant should not be allowed to go to the Hon4ble )u!reme Court# f need be, the law can be changed accordingl"# ? # t is needed to establish a bod" at national le3el com!osed of Judges, Aaw"ers and Aegal academics, which should be charged with a dut" to conduct e-aminations for recruitment to ndian Judicial )er3ice I J)J# .rticle :// will ha3e to be amended to confer !ower on the !resident to a!!oint members of ndian Judicial )er3ices on the recommendation of National Judicial )er3ice Commission# ,he creation of ndian Judicial )er3ice is a!!eared necessar" to get best a3ailable talent in the countr"# ? # ,here is urgentl" need to im!ro3e the basic infrastructure and management of resources# Modern technolog" and use of com!uters could also increase the efficienc" of the court s"stem# ,he judiciar" has also to learn management techni0ues through training at all le3els# ,hough, the )u!reme Court and High Courts are ha3ing good infrastructure but this in not the same !osition with lower courts# ,he lower courts are the basic institution of justice and to im!ro3e the 0ualit" of the justice dis!ensed with, it is necessar" to im!ro3e their infrastructure b" modern technolog"# Aac% of funds should not be allowed to enter in the wa" of de3elo!ment of infrastructure, as e-ternal securit" is necessar", internal maintenance of law and order is also necessar" for the internal securit", national interest, !eace and !rogress# n general budget certain handsome amount could also be allocated to

judiciar" li%e defence and education or a se!arate judicial budget should be !laced, li%e railwa" budget# ,he !anel of go3ernment law"er should also be on merits not on the basis of nearness to ministers# .s the go3ernment is the largest litigant, more trans!arenc" is re0uired on their !art# >o3t# counsel should be selected on the basis of merit, efficienc", integrit", b" some trans!arent manner# ,here should also be some !ermanent 3igilance !ro3ision to obser3e the wor%ing of the !ublic !rosecutors# )ecurit" s"stem in courts also needs im!ro3ement for !ro!er confidence of !eo!le and fearless functioning of s"stem# nformation9counter should be set u! in e3er" court for the con3enience of litigating !ublic# K# 6ur criminal justice s"stem has the urgent re0uirement of nde!endent n3estigati3e .genc"# 'ela" in !olice in3estigation is also one reason due to which cases linger on for "ears# t is, therefore, good to create an inde!endent wing of !olice force, full" in charge of crime in3estigation, and functioning under the direct control of inde!endent !rosecutors# ,hat wing should be accountable to judiciar" and not to !articular go3ernment of a time# ,he !ractice of torture and third degree methods, e-tra judicial e-ecution in fa%e encounters ma" be sto!!ed also when crime in3estigation machiner" became accountable to judiciar"# )uch t"!e of !olice wing also became %nowledgeable about the t"!e and method of the e3idence needed# Hence, baseless cases, which lead ac0uittal, also could come down# )o, there should be co9ordination between !olice and !rosecuting agencies# ,he earl" dis!osal of case also boosts the morals of !olice force and will sa3e time, which would ha3e been ta%en in !roducing arrestee to the court Horn time to time# K# Ee ha3e inherited 1ritish legal s"stem, 1ritish !rescribed it at that time, without considering the need of ndian societ" nor did the" consider the !ractical of the !rocedure# )o, this s"stem is drawn from different sources without seeing the ground realities# )ome !eo!le toda" !refer to %ee! 0uiet, rather than go to the court of law# )o, now this s"stem is more ndianised for ma%ing it fit to societ"# t is heard that in ancient time justice s"stem was 3er" good# ,he dis!utes were settled on the s!ot b" deli3ering justice# 1ut ancient justice !roceedings were oral in general and therefore no much record is a3ailable# Now we can ta%e modem %now9how from the countries, which ha3e best justice deli3er" s"stem b" getting ac0uainted with the !rocedure followed there, if fit to ndian societ"# ,he ci3il and criminal !rocedure codes and the laws of e3idence ha3e to be substantiall" re3ised to meet the re0uirements of modem judicial administration# ,hough most of !rocedural laws are effecti3e e3en toda" but some !ro3ision needs re3ision, es!eciall" the ci3il laws# ,o lessen the burden of cases, we ma" introduce the conce!t of4 Plea9bargainingL b" decriminali+ation of those wrongs, which can justl" be dealt with b" com!ensator" remedies ICom!ensation to 3ictim li%e in tortJ# ,he institutions in3ol3ed in justice deli3er" s"stem such as the !olice, the !rosecution, and the court, !rison etc#9re0uires to be reformed in terms of organi+ation, !rocedures, resources and accountabilit"# )o that, nowhere citi+en feels uneasiness# ,here should be time limits !rescribed for adjudication# ,here should be uniform formats for the a!!eals and !etitions to ma%e the !rocedure eas"# ,he judgment should be in bre3it" and clarit"# ,he conce!t li%e of !ublic interest litigation is alwa"s welcoming, which is affordable to common men# Hence, there is a lot of sco!e to im!ro3e the situation# 7or e#g# )ection /81 Cr# P#c# should be amended to allow the 3ictim to a!!oint a law"er of his choice in addition to !ublic !rosecutor to defend his case# )imilarl", )ection / 1/ I/J of Cr# P#C# also be amended so that the accused would be held liable for refusal to gi3e answer or telling lie# ,he 3ictim will be allowed to cross9e-amine the accused to elucidate the truth# ,here must be some fi-ed time for !resentation of written statement, counter claim and re!l" li%e the !laint, under the imitation .ct# .fter all !rocedural law is meant to further ends of justice#

Conclusion Ehile the !roblem of dela" loo%s daunting, it can be dealt with, b" ha3ing more fast trac% Courts, ma%ing judicial ser3ices more attracti3e thereb" attracting good law"ers and filling u! all 3acancies at 3arious Courts# Ee can conclude from the abo3e discussion that we should not resort in e-tra9ordinar" hurr"9u! of cases b" whate3er means# .s justice dela"ed is justice denied, similarl", the sa"ing, justice hurried is justice buried is e0uall" true# ,herefore, sufficient, reasonable and due hearing of e3er" cases with consideration of its circumstances is the necessar" re0uirement of natural justice and balance of con3enience# n fact, the untiring efforts !ut b" fear and fla3orless ndian Judiciar" is doing commendable job of im!arting justice in s!ite of so man" difficulties, which created faith of !ublic in the rule# 6f law is a great achie3ement, which reall" re0uires dee! a!!reciation# )ocial justice will be !ossible onl" if the entire conce!t of egalitarian !olitico9social order is followed, where no one is e-!loited, where e3er" one is liberated and where e3er" one is e0ual and free from Hunger and !o3ert"# ,he !ro3erb MJustice 'ela"ed is Justice 'enied4 is !ro3ed as it is denied to the !oorest of the !oor# Pro3iding basic necessities to them will amount to Justice because the definition of justice 3aries from indi3iduals to indi3iduals on the basis of its economic conditions# .ccording to 1#P#)ingh J the situation toda" is so grim that if a !oor is able to reach to the stage of a high court, it should be considered as an achie3ement# Cases should be decided for im!arting justice not for the sa%e of its dis!osal# )econdl", .rbitration !rocedure must be utili+ed as a better o!tion for 0uic% dis!osal of cases# 7inall", to conclude with the words of Aord Hewet as it is of fundamental im!ortance that justice should not onl" be done, but should manifestl" and undoubtedl" be seen to be done# Without Justice, life would not be possible and e en if it were it would not be worth li ing! """"""#iorgio $el %ecchio

Shanthi

SHOBA SHANTHI