Justice delayed, justice denied: Pending legal cases in India cross over 4.41 cr

JUSTICE delayed is justice denied This adage implies that if legal redress or equitable relief is available to an injured party but is not provided promptly it is essentially the same as having no remedy at all One of the reasons for delayed justice in the country is the staggering number of pending cases in the courts The total number of pending cases has crossed over 441 crore nationwide with Maharashtra alone accounting for over 50 lakh These alarming statistics have raised concerns among social activists practising advocates and the former central information commissioner who expressed their concerns and suggested solutions to tackle these glaring numbers as per the National Judicial Data Grid records on July 15Pending cases decay democracyAdvocate Godfrey Pimenta a trustee of the Watchdog Foundation stated The piling of cases across various courts in India is a sure sign of a decaying democracy Politicians have consistently lagged behind in delivering justice to the masses because it serves their vested interests The need of the hour is an overhaul of the Code of Civil Procedure CPC and Code of Criminal Procedure Cr PC to address procedural inefficiencies causing undue delays Infrastructural changes such as increasing the number of courtrooms transitioning to online hearings and appointing more judges are necessaryTo curtail the filing of frivolous cases the losing party should bear the cost of litigation Judges appointments should be made without interference which is often a cause for concern It is unfortunate that the state government is neglecting to fill vacancies in quasijudicial bodies like MahaRERA Even a member of the appellate tribunal recently retired without a replacement The nonfilling of vacancies is affecting the delivery of justice Despite highlighting the issue of vacancies the present state government seems more focused on its own survival than solving matters of public interest added PimentaLack of infrastructureSolicitor Stuti Galia highlighted multiple reasons for case pendency including a shortage of judges lengthy procedural and technical requirements frequent transfer of judges and a lack of resources and infrastructure Additionally in many cases regulatorygovernment departments fail to address grievances adequately This leads to a significant number of cases pending against or involving these departments Galia emphasised that if regulatorygovernment departments effectively discharge their duties citizens would not need to approach courts thus reducing the burden on the judiciaryGalia further noted It is often observed that lower courttribunal judges lack effective specialisation leading to frequent reversals of their judgments by higher courts This increase in appeals against lower courttribunal decisions contributes to the backlogSolutionTo address these challenges several solutions are proposed Firstly the number of courts needs to be increased by establishing more benches and appointing additional judges Structural modifications and new mechanisms are necessary Additionally many courts still lack modernisation and digitalisation making the entire system inefficient Instances where judges do not sit without prior intimation resulting in the discharge of the entire board cause a significant loss of time for all parties involved including lawyers and litigants Vacancies should be filled promptly and the quality of legal education across the country needs improvement The working of the courts should be enhanced by providing quality infrastructure modernisation and expanding the use of technology and facilities to encourage more aspiring lawyers to choose a career in the judiciaryVigilant about legal and constitutional rightsAdvocate Rajeshwar Panchal who practices in the Bombay High Court echoed similar concerns stating that the significant backlog of cases reveals two key issues Firstly there is a lack of regular appointments of judicial officers resulting in courts and tribunals remaining vacant or operating with limited staff Secondly the government has not increased the number of judicial officers proportionately to the growing population The high pendency also indicates that people are becoming more vigilant about their legal and constitutional rights leading them to approach the court Additionally there is a lack of mechanisms to hold anyone accountable for the backlog Notably the higher judiciary lacks representation from all classes and reservation policies do not apply As a result judicial offices are primarily occupied by individuals selected based on merit rather than reservation However the substantial pendency exposes the shortcomings of the meritbased system which some quarters of society allege compromises meritHighly alarmingAdvocate Floyd Gracias a Supreme Court counsel expressed great concern over the large number of pending cases emphasising that the law and the legal system act as a deterrent against illegal acts and crimes The high pendency implies that delayed justice can be seen as justice denied which undermines the deterrence principle established by various schools of criminology and penologySolutionGracias stressed the imperative of enhancing the system developing infrastructure and reducing the backlog of litigation However he also urged lawyers and litigants to consider the situation and avoid unnecessary adjournments be prepared for proceedings and proceed accordingly when listed before courts These practices would save a significant amount of time for the courts and the judicial system ensuring speedy justice for allAdvocate Floyd Gracias Advocate Shreeprasad Parab Solicitor Stuti Galiya and Shailesh Gandhi former Central Information CommissionerWay forwardConstitutional expert Advocate Shreeprasad Parab highlighted the need for reforms in Indias judicial process which is based on the colonial system Parab pointed out positive changes that occurred during the COVID19 pandemic such as courts transitioning to online platforms and the use of email and WhatsApp for summons delivery However he emphasised that the piling up of cases should not be the reason for these transformations Parab proposed several solutions including encouraging young lawyers to join the judiciary through training integrated into the law college curriculum promoting mediation and settlements before resorting to litigation implementing online filing of cases and documents digitalising administrative judicial work and improving the infrastructure of courts to support virtual proceedings Special courts dedicated to legal heirship and succession matters could help reduce the workload on higher courts Furthermore educating people and lawyers about alternative dispute resolution methods like arbitration conciliation and mediation would discourage rushing to courtsIn an interview Shailesh Gandhi former Central Information Commissioner shared his thoughts on the issueQ What does the number bring to your mind What is your first thoughtAns The number brings to mind the fact that many other countries are actively working to reduce delays in their courts India on the other hand is setting a world record that is unlikely to be broken We are continuing on a downward slide with no roadmap for correctionQ Do you agree with the fact that in India Justice is not only delayed but also deniedAns Absolutely The ones who suffer the most are the poor The rich and powerful wrongdoers can manipulate the system to expedite or delay their cases as they please Articles 14 and 21 are routinely violated in our courts We cannot claim to have a functioning justice systemQ The situation is worst in quasijudicial bodies like MahaRERA which was established to address grievances of flat buyers within three months of registering the complaint However the waiting time for the first hearing is now two to three years what is your viewAns These quasijudicial bodies are taking inspiration from the judiciary which lacks the moral authority to discipline themQ What is the way forward Do you have any suggested solutionsAns An analysis of data from the Supreme Court website for a twelveyear period reveals that the average increase in the backlog was less than 337 per year while the vacancies in sanctioned positions of judges exceeded 2137 It is evident that if vacancies are kept under 537 the pendency would decrease each year Additionally if the infrastructure is a bottleneck approximately 3037 of courts could operate in two shifts The nation must prioritise these measuresHere are the pending court cases statistics for All India and Maharashtra sourced from the National Judicial Data Grid as of July 14 2023All India Pending Court Cases Civil Cases 11022076 Criminal Cases 33123173 Total Cases 44145249Pending Court Cases in Maharashtra Civil Cases 11022076 Criminal Cases 33123173 Total Cases 44145249Here is the breakdown of yearwise pending cases civil and criminal across India sourced from the National Judicial Data Grid