PSYCHOLOGY WRITE UP

REALITY OF SPEEDY JUSTICE IN COURTS IN INDIA

COURSE NAME: COMMUNITY AND APPLIED SOCIAL

PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CODE:2BL225
SEMESTER:II

SUBMITTED TO: DR NONGTHOMBAM BANGKIM SINGH

SUBMITTED BY
AAYUSHEE GAUTAM (16BAL063)
 INTRODUCTION
Our justice system even in grave cases, suffers from slow motion syndrome which is lethal
to 'fair trial' whatever the ultimate decision. Speedy justice is a component of social justice
since the community, as a whole, is concerned in the criminal being condignly and finally
punished within a reasonable time and the innocent being absolved from the inordinate
ordeal of criminal proceedings."

- Justice Krishna Iyer Babu Singh v. State of UP1

India is a diverse country. The population of India is the 2nd largest in the world, and that
explains the burden on the judiciary. Moreover, the Judiciary of our country is not well
equipped. The justice delivery system is on the verge of collapse with more than 30 million
cases clogging the system. There are cases that take so much of time that even a generation is
too short to get any type of redressal.2 Even the former CJI T.S.Thakur lamented the bulk of
pending litigation and shortage of judges in the system causing further inefficiency. "...And
therefore, it is not only in the name of a litigant or people languishing in jails but also in the
name of development of the country, its progress that I beseech you to rise to the occasion
and realise that it is not enough to criticise. You cannot shift the entire burden on the
judiciary," the Chief Justice of India.3

It is very important to relate this delay to the effect it has on the common mass. The
psychological effect of the pain and agony of the ongoing pending cases on the people
involved is to be noted. Sometimes it even continues over generations, and the justice then
served has probably lost its significance till then. It is intrinsically related with the branch of
social psychology. Social psychology is about understanding individual behavior in a social
context.

Baron, Byrne & Suls (1989) define social psychology as 'the scientific field that seeks to
understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations' .It therefore

1
Babu Singh v. State of UP
2
http://www.orfonline.org/research/justice-delayed-is-justice-denied-the-plight-of-indian-poor/
3
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/an-overworked-chief-justice-ts-thakur-
breaks-down-in-front-of-pm-modi/articleshow/51965197.cms
looks at human behavior as influenced by other people and the social context in which this
occurs.

Social psychologists therefore deal with the factors that lead us to behave in a given way in
the presence of others, and look at the conditions under which certain behavior/actions and
feelings occur. Social psychology is to do with the way these feelings, thoughts, beliefs,
intentions and goals are constructed and how such psychological factors, in turn, influence
our interactions with others. 4The relation with social psychology is very intricate and is
woven into layers. The effect delay has on the minds of the people is cumbersome and cannot
be in any way reversed.

THEORETICAL APPLICATION

"Justice delayed is justice denied"

The case study is based on the research conducted in the district consumer court in
Ahmadabad City. There was very little, or no chaos at all. It was a very peaceful government
office, unlike the ones we imagine in majority. The consumer protection commission and
consumer protection forum were in the same building. We also went to watch the
proceedings and came to the conclusion that justice was speedy in the consumer courts, not
only on paper but in reality. The minimum time taken in the consumer forum is 1year,
whereas the minimum time taken in the consumer dispute redressal commission is 2 years.
Moreover, 95% of the cases are judged in favour of the consumer, which increases their
satisfaction level all the more. This is very different from what we see in the civil or criminal
courts. Cases take a lot of time to get settled there. Sometimes, the cases even extend for 25
years or more, lessening the interest of the public in getting justice at all. The right to a
speedy trial is first mentioned in that landmark document of English law, the Magna Carta.
The constitutional philosophy propounded as right to speedy trial has though grown in age by
almost two and a half decades, the goal sought to be achieved is yet a far-off peak. It a
concept which deals with speedy disposal of cases to make the judiciary more effective and
to impart justice as fast as possible. Article 21 declares that no person shall be deprived of
his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure laid by law.5

4
http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html
5
http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l297-Right-To-Speedy-Trial.html
The phenomenon in the social psychology can be explained through two social psychology
theories- 1) cognitive dissonance theory by festinger in 1950 and 2) social identity theory by
Tajfel in 1971.

INFERENCES

The two theories mentioned in the previous section helps us guide through the inferences
which the delay in justice has on the people.

1) Cognitive dissonance theory

Festinger, Schacter and Black brought the idea that when we hold beliefs, attitudes or
cognitions which are different, then we experience dissonance this is an inconsistency that
causes discomfort. Dissonance occurs when there are difficult choices or decisions, or when
people participate in behavior that is contrary to their attitude. Dissonance is thus brought
about by effort justification (when aiming to reach a modest goal), induced compliance (when
people are forced to comply contrary to their attitude) and free choice (when weighing up
decisions).6

The common people, whether plaintiff or complainant has some or the other beliefs prior to
the filing of the case in the court. But, most often, they are faced with a situation completely
different from what principles they hold. And this situation continues for a long time,
sometimes over the course of their whole life. This causes a lot of discomfort and pains them
throughout their life.

2) Social identity theory

A social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived

membership in a relevant social group. As originally formulated by Henri Tajfel and John
Turner in the 1970s and the 1980s, social identity theory introduced the concept of a social
identity as a way in which to explain intergroup behavior.7 The alleged crime doers become
out-group for the society. They get secluded, and find no way back into the mainstream
society.

6
http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html
7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_identity_theory
 SUBSTANTIATION

Justice is the foundation and object of any civilized society. The quest for justice has been an
ideal which mankind has been aspiring for generations down the line. Justice is a
constitutional mandate.8 The Constitution of India has, in its Preamble, defined and declared
the common goal for its citizens as, to secure to all the citizens of India, Justice- social,
economic and political. Article 14 guarantees equality before the law and the equal
protection of the laws. Article 39A of the Constitution mandates the State to secure that the
operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity and ensure
that the same is not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. All have
equal rights, but unfortunately, all cannot enjoy the rights equally. Enforcement of the rights
has to be through courts, but the judicial procedure is very complex, costly and tardy, putting
the poor persons at a detachment. It is one of the most important duties of a welfare state to
provide judicial and non-judicial dispute-resolution mechanisms to which all citizens have
equal access for resolution of their legal disputes and enforcement of their fundamental and
legal rights.9 In Sheela Barse v. Union of India court reaffirmed that speedy trial to be
fundamental right. Right to speedy trial is a concept gaining recognition and importance day
by day.10

In hussainara khatoon v. State of Bihar which formed the basis of the concept of the Speedy
Trial, it was held that where under trial prisoners have been in jail for duration longer than
prescribed, if convicted, their detention in jail is totally unjustified and in violation to
fundamental rights under article 21. Inordinate delays violates article 21 of the constitution.11
In the case Katar Singh v. State of Punjab it was declared that right to speedy trial is an
essential part of fundamental right to life and liberty.12 In the case Abdul Rahman Antulay v.
R.S. Nayak, the bench declared certain aspects and guidelines regarding the speedy trial and
quashing of cases should depend upon nature of the case. The remarks of a seven judges
bench in P.Ramachandra Rao v. State of Karnataka ix are also pertinent here (JT para 20,pp
105-06):

8
Justice S.B. Sinha, Judicial Reform in Justice Delivery System, (2004) 4 SCC (Jour) 35.
9
Reform of Procedural Law for Enhancing Timely Justice: Analysis of Section 89 of the CPC
http://www.airwebworld.com/articles/index.php?article=1393.
10
Sheela Barse v. Union of India
11
hussainara khatoon v. State of Bihar
12
Katar Singh v. State of Punjab
 "The root cause for delay in dispensation of justice in our country is poor judge
population ratio. Law Commission of India in its 120th report on man power planning
in judiciary (July 1987), based on its survey, regretted that in spite of Article 39A
added as a major directive principle in the Constitution by 42nd amendment (1976),
obliging the state to secure such operation of legal system as it promotes justice and to
ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen. Several
reorganization proposals in the field of administration of justice in India have been
basically patch work, ad hoc and unsystematic solutions to the problemThe judge-
population- ratio in India (based on 1971 census) was only 10.5 judges per million
population .The Law Commission suggested that India required 107 judges per
million of Indian population; however to begin with the judge strength needed to be
raised to five fold. i.e. 50 judges per million populations in a period of five years but
in any case not going beyond ten years. Touch of said sarcasm is difficult to hide
when the Law Commission observed (in its 120th report, ibid) that adequate
reorganization of the Indian judiciary is at the one and at the same time everybodys
concern and therefore nobodys concern." 13

13
http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/16415/Constitutional+Administrative+Law/The+Right+To+Speedy+Justice+
New+Avtar+Of+Fast+Track+Courts
 SUGGESTIONS & INTERVENTIONS

There can be various ways to curb this delay in justice. A few interventions are

1) Setting up of various courts on the lines of fast track courts.

2) Following the idea of separating the consumer court from the trial courts, various
other courts can be fully separated to work independently and efficiently
3) The judge recruitment process be made more flexible and situation friendly to avoid
the humongous lag.
4) There be made different courts for new cases, cases pending for more than 5 years,
cases pending for more than 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and more than 30 years. This
type of a distribution will divide the work and improve efficiency.
5) Cut down the arbitrary holiday schedule of the courts. People have grievances all
through the year, and not on specific days. People need courts all through the year,
just like other institutions as banks.
6) There should be a body to keep a check on the lawyers and their malpractices, which
causes clog in the deliverance of justice.

An example could be that of the intervention strategies deployed in Uganda. Uganda sets
a time limit on criminal trials, after which any sentence would be illegal. Laws like the
Criminal Procedure Code Act, Trial on Indictments Act, Magistrates Courts Act and
Evidence Act all provide the basis for the criminal court process. Article 23 (6) of the
Constitution provides the time limits for detention of person accused of crime. For cases
triable by the High court and subordinate courts, the entire period of detention until
commencement of trial is 60 days. For cases triable only by the High court, the time
spent in custody before the case is committed to the High Court for trial is limited to 180
days. The import of these provisions is that any detention beyond that period is illegal but
also that time spent in custody after a case is committed but in advance of trial is not
subject to any legal limits.14

14
http://www.laspnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=367:a-call-for-concerted-
strategic-interventions-in-criminal-justice&catid=89&Itemid=435
 CONCLUSION

This case study dealt with majorly the delay in the justice offered by our courts. The model
used in this was primary data obtained from district consumer dispute resolution forum and
commission, Ahmadabad city. The whole case study centered around the grim consequences
of such delay on the psychology of the people. The ways to curb it was also discussed in the
end. So we can rightly conclude from the above data that the need for speedy justice is the
need of the hour. And also justice delayed is justice denied. Therefore we must strive for
better disposal ratio of cases in the courts of the country.