New Delhi , 31st July 2010.Mainstreaming And Supporting The Lowest Wing Of The Indian Judiciary.

The Confederation of Indian Bar in cooperation with Konrad Adenauer Foundation holding an All India Seminar on ‘JUDICIAL REFORMS [Balance Sheet of 60 years of the Administration of Justice under the Indian Constitution (1950-2010)]’ on Saturday, the 31st July 2010 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India was inaugurate te seminar. Honourable Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, preside this Session in Vigyan Bhawan.

Mr. Sandeep Dubey, Advocate, Supreme Court of India,President Lawyers Of The World Association and president international lawyers congress says that New Delhi , 31st July 2010.

The Constitution of India has given a special place to the judiciary. However, if we look at the balance sheet of the functioning of the judiciary after the Constitution of India came into force, we see that there are several achievements as well as some failures. The judiciary is inflicted with some serious problems which need urgent attention. We have to ensure that the judiciary meets the expectations of the common man and preserve the trust, confidence and faith of the people of this country.

The administration of justice rests on the shoulder of the district judiciary, as the majority of the litigants go only up to the district level. Thus, it is essential that the problems faced by the district court should be considered on priority and steps taken to provide the necessary infrastructure and manpower to enable them to function effectively.

Chief Justices and their companion judges of the High Courts are the best persons to know the requirement of the district judiciary in their respective states. Their assessment and demand should receive proper consideration and should not be “rejected” on account of mere financial constraints.

Instances are also not rare where judges are available, but there are no court rooms for them to work and in some cases where court rooms are available, there is no supporting staff to make them function.

India has one of the highest numbers of pending cases in the world, due to lack of adequate infrastructure as well as huge vacancy in the judiciary. Expressing her concern over a large number of vacancies in lower judiciary, the President of India Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil expressed the need for judicial reforms to resolve the problem of huge pendency of cases. She suggested the setting up of Gram Nyayalayas to take the judicial system to the grassroot level.

Further, the High Courts have encouraged court annexed mediation center’s to come up in District Court’s and they are given very encouraging results. The Hon’ble Supreme of India, as a matter of policy, giving greater force to mediation movement in District Court’s, to nip the monster of litigation at the threshold.

India is said to possess one of the fairest legal systems in the world. Measures like re-engineering the processes, technology adoption etc. will help in achieving the goal of judicial reforms in India.

In certain States, Judicial Academies for training of Judges have not been established. There should be no further delay. It is absolutely necessary to impart training before a Judge starts functioning in a court of law.

It is also essential that continuing Legal Education Centers be set up for keeping abreast the judges particularly in the field of new emerging areas of Law, such as Cyber laws, Intellectual Property matters, etc. In these Centers, judges must have an opportunity of interacting with distinguished people from various disciplines to make them aware of ground realities which will help them in discharge of their duties effectively.

Computerisation of courts was initiated during the latter part of 1980s in association with the National Informatics Centre.
This was done for better case-flow management and in making available certified copies instantaneously. Interlinking of courts and setting up of National Judicial Data Center will give online information about region-wise as well as national judicial trends. This will help in devising policies and solutions for reduction of arrears and delays. This will also ensure better transparency and accountability.

The courts at all levels have been computerized, e-court have been established, video-conference facility is also available. But still there are many cities in the country where these facilities have not been provided and in some cities if provided no proper backup is provided. Due to this the basic purpose is forfeited.

The ideal position is that before a vacancy arises, the person to take over should be known. Fortunately, things are in controllable limits at Supreme Court level only. It has to be regularized. In various states for months and years, vacancies in subordinate courts are not filled.

It is unfortunate that legislations are enacted without any study as to the size of litigation it will generate and without making provision for corresponding increase in number of Judges. The practical examples are the complaints under Negotiable Instruments Act or under Domestic Violence Act. Thus, it defeats the very object with which these Acts have been enacted.

Recently, the Delhi High Court has ordered that when the parole granted by the high court, the furnishing of the surety bond should be to the satisfaction of the jail supreindent or SDM in very rather case it should be to the satisfaction of trial court. This change is brought so that the precious time of the trial court may be saved.

In many cases, one gets an impression that the pattern of enforcement by the law enforcing agency is different for the poor and the rich. This impression has to be erased. Wherever there is delay in service of notice, summons or warrants on rich and powerful, strict action against defaulting officers should be taken It is extremely necessary for the High Courts to effectively monitor and issue directions and guidelines from time to time.

The judiciary is the only legal forum for adjudicating all disputes between the high and the low. It is, therefore, necessary that the people do not loose confidence in it. The greatest asset of the judiciary is the confidence of the people. The loss of confidence in the judiciary is an end of the Rule of Law. Our present Chief Justice Of India, Justice S.H.Kapadia is a great exponent of judicial reforms in the lower court and has initiated a constuctive dialogue with the Union government to provide the necessary funds and infrastructure so that the lower judiciary is able to perform effectively and meet the expectation of the common man.

In the end, I would like to thank Mr P H Pareekh and confederation of Indian Bar for giving me the opportunity to speak on such an important topic.