The Super Slow Indian Judicial Train !!

The statistics published in the newspapers about pending cases with various courts in India as on date is SHOCKING . 31.28 million cases pending  which will take 320 years to clear as per the current going rate !! . There is a back log of 2147 cases per judge , considering there are 14,576 judges available .  The ratio is 10 judges for million people as against a norm recommended by the law Commission at 50 judges per million  .

What went wrong in our country which boasts of a great democratic tradition and a fair deal to its citizens ? . Do we blame the legal frame work ,  process bottle necks  or the overall inertia and lack of motivation of the courts to clear cases expeditiously ? . There could also be vested interests playing a role in denying or delaying justice to the common man based on political , ideological or lopsided and archaic social considerations .

I am a lawyer’s son and I have seen first hand the difficulties experienced by various clients involved in petty and long drawn out land disputes for whom  my father was the lawyer . Cases used to get adjourned as a matter of routine for years together and presented to different judges at the same court thereby breaking the continuity and consistency in decisions . I also understand that many times  unscrupulous  lawyers manipulated adjournments to benefit their clients and collected hefty fees just to arrange such temporary relief .

The Indian public is still far away from judicial activism practiced in developed countries like the US and it will be a nightmare when we reach such a stage .  We already have an example in the State of Kerala  with near 100 percent literacy where about 30 new cases per 1000 people are being filed in courts .

There is a dire need to re-look and revamp our judicial system  with ” out of the box ” solutions .  Curbs on adjournments  and increased accountability of  courts along with  introduction of special , mobile and village courts to clear the back log can help to some extent . Besides , a Special Parliamentary  Commission should be set up to come up with  judicial reforms for the country to address this malady in a holistic manner.