It is said that you do not get justice in Indian courts but what you get is termed justice. This is largely because of the inordinate delays in the judicial system. At present, there are over 33 lakh cases pending before the High Courts alone. Out of these, five lakh are over 10 years old. In the lower courts, over 45 lakh cases are pending. The delays these entail lend an unintended and undesirable power to anti-social elements. There is, then, no escaping reform. Yet reform has been very slow in coming. For instance, changes in the civil code, approved in 1973 and again amended in 1999 have not yet been implemented because of resistance from lawyers. The Bangalore Law School has come out with some startling revelations. It takes three months to three years to serve a summons or an emergency notice. Filing of written statements takes anywhere from six months to two years and for interlocutory applications, from four months to four years. Most delays occur in issuing and serving summons. In fact, they should be held valid even when sent by e-mail, courier or registered post. Refusing to accept summons should be viewed seriously and should be punished. Recently, there was an instance when summons issued by the Mumbai High Court to the attorney general of India came back with the remark “addressee not found”. The method of presenting evidence also needs to change. Prior to the hearing, both sides should submit their written arguments to enable the judge to study them and put searching questions to the witnesses. Adjournments should be granted up to three times only and a stay should be granted up to a maximum of 30 days, and that too only for sound reasons. The judiciary is woefully short staffed at every level. Added to this is the problem of innumerable holidays. Our judicial system enjoys more holidays than working days. The Supreme Court, for instance, works generally for 180 days, high courts for 210 days and the lower courts for 235 days. In contrast, US courts observe only four holidays in a year. Thought should be given on how to increase productivity in our courts. For instance, work can be done in two shifts if infrastructure is a constraint. The Kerala High Court has set an example in this regard. It works from 11 am to 5 pm, except for an hour for lunch. The lower courts in the state also follow these timings. Apart from making our courts more efficient, there are many other aspects of court functioning that are crying out for reform. Take our laws, for instance, some of them go back to the early years of the British Raj and are completely out of date. They should be scrapped and the rest quickly updated. The language used in courts should also be made more simple so that even the common man can understand it. Let’s not forget that by shoring up our justice system we will be making our democracy stronger and more vibrant.
