A MISSION - A RESPONSIBILITY
TOWARDS CREATING A LOVING & CARING WORLD
Justice Anil Xavier
www.arbitrationindia.org
Paswan from West Bengal, India, was not fortunate enough to see the murderers of his son tried
for their acts. Paswan, a prime witness in his son’s
case died on 29 July 2004, one day after the ‘Special
Bench’ of the Kolkota High Court ruled that the
case against the perpetrators in the murder of his
son could proceed on the finding that “government
permission is not required to prosecute Singh, now
a Deputy Inspector General, as kidnapping was not
among his official duties as a police officer”. It took
the Indian judiciary ten years to decide a matter
that any informed person would have resolved
in a few minutes. There are also instances where
adjudication of matters of management of minor’s
estate became infructuous because the child became a major before the matter could be heard
and instances where the civil right of a person was
decided after his death. According to Mr. Justice
M.N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India,
a matter came up before him when he was sitting as
the Chief Justice, which he himself had drafted in
his early years as a lawyer about 27 years back.
According to recent statistics, in India, the judge
population ratio is 12 - 13 judges per million. This
is the lowest in the world, as compared to 135 to
150 per 10 lakh people in advanced countries. A
study conducted by the Ministry of Finance re-
veals that at the current rate it will take 324 years
to dispose of the backlogs of cases in Indian courts.
“California’s population was almost touching 38
million. In India, that’s the number of cases pending in courts across the country”. Providing this
peculiar comparison was none other than the Chief
Justice of India, Mr. Justice K G Balakrishnan.
The denial of justice through delay is the biggest
mockery of law, but in India it is not limited to
mere mockery; the delay in fact kills the entire
justice dispensation system of the country. The
legal system is simply not equipped to handle the
number of cases filed. It is often said that litigation
is an unwelcome houseguest that stays for years or
decades together. This has led to instances of people
settling scores on their own, resulting in a growing number of criminal syndicates and mob justice
at least in some parts of the country reflecting the
frustration of the people in the long wait for justice
they are compelled for, by our legal system.
A recent study also concluded that 70 percent of
the “winners” in litigation were unhappy in the end.
One can safely assume that close to 100 percent
of the “losers” in litigation were also unhappy. To
make rule of law a reality, the arrears will have to
be reduced. Speedy justice is an assurance extended
TheSovereignVoice.Org