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Journalism of Courage
There is unanimity on prescriptions for the judicial system,but results remain elusive
For all the vaunted independence and strength of Indias judiciary,its working capacity leaves much to be desired. Cases drag on for years because the courts are overwhelmed with the volume of work. India has 15.5 judges per 10 lakh people on average,compared to,say,75 in Canada and 50 in the UK. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flagged the problem of judicial congestion at a conference of chief ministers and chief justices on Sunday,asking states to actively increase the number of judges,assuring them of Central assistance in shoring up the subordinate court infrastructure. He observed that over three crore cases were pending across the country,of which 26 per cent were more than five years old. Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir spoke of doubling the number of lower courts.
In the backdrop of this conference was the Delhi gangrape of December 16 that drew attention to how justice delivery works in practice. Speaking of that national outrage,Singh committed to fast-track courts for sections perceived as more vulnerable the elderly,children and women. But that is itself a tacit admission that justice moves more slowly and reluctantly for some than for others and,like other attempts to circumvent the problem with specialised courts,it does not address the systems flaws. Part of the reason judicial reform is so slow is that governments do not see the political utility of giving it their urgent and sustained attention or pouring money into it. What they do not realise is that this necessary investment in the rule of law will sustain faith in other branches of government as well. The newly visible impulse of vigilante justice,of instant solutions to vexed social problems,is,in part,an indication of public frustration with an insufficiently committed and inefficient system.
