Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
The grave situation of pendency of cases was expected to be addressed in a visionary manner by PM of India in recently concluded ‘Annual Chief Ministers and Chief Justices Conference’ The Prime Minister Modi’s comment on reducing annual holidays of Judges to help reduce pendency and further statement that he has attended the same conference several times and heard speeches several times as Gujarat CM. Speakers have kept his suggestions to reduce their annual holidays to help reduce pendency. This statement of PM sharply reacted by Chief Justice of India by saying that “Do you mean we go to Manali (considered to be holiday home of PM) or some other hill station to enjoy ourselves”. During the conference of Judges and CMs, Justice Thakur, who made an emotional appeal to Modi, in increasing the number of Judges to clear the national backlog, made a strong remark saying that Modi’s “advice should be to bar”. Chief Justice of India launched a scathing attack on government inaction, squarely blaming the centre for stalling appointment of Judges to the High Courts. He also blamed the Centre of doing nothing to increase the number of Courts and Judges in the country, thus denying the poor man and under trial prisoners their due of Justice. The Chief Justice asked what the point of ‘Make in India’ was and inviting foreign investments when investors are increasingly doubtful about the timely delivery of Justice. Strong worded comments to Centre that how long will you take to process these proposals? How long, when jails are over flowing. The brushing away of this suggestion of PM with heavy hammer by CJI needs to be taken as an awakening call for the Government and to proceed for the needful without further waste of time.
The CJI has shown his serious concern for pendency, while inaugurating the new building of the Lucknow Bench of the High Court and said ‘while noting that people’s aspiration for justice has increased’, CJI on Sunday suggested hearing and finalisation of cases during the summer holidays, if council of both the sides were willing. He assured the lawyers that if bar cooperate, Judges will be ready to sit on Saturdays to finish old matters.
The concept of ‘Lok Adalat’ is a system of alternate dispute resolution developed n India by Legal services Authorities Act, 1987. Lok Adalats an informal, alternate mechanism has been a phenomenal success in tackling pendency, especially in pre-litigation matters, settling fresh cases before they become full-blown disputes and enter the Courts. The move to reduce pendency, ‘Fast-Track Courts’, ‘Evening Courts/Morning Courts’ and concept of ‘Mobile Courts’ to bring Justice at the doorstep are matters of great concern. Some quotes comes to my mind as; (Martin Luther King, junior) ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ (Mahatma Gandhi) ‘There is higher Court than Courts of Justice and that is the Court of Conscience. It supersedes all other Courts’. The Laws on Earth are conceived and enacted by the human beings, so it can never be claimed that such Laws are always perfect, the Laws are enforced by human beings, its perfect enforcement cannot be claimed and similarly the Judgments are also delivered by human beings, so there is possibility of some lacunas in the Judgments, that is by the idiom goes that “Good Judgments come from experience and experience comes from bad Judgments”. The healthy comments always brings betterment and chances to refine, so the remarks of Justice Ruma Pal, a Judge of Supreme Court of India from 28th January, 2000 to 3rd June, 2006 and member of the International Forum of Women Judges, in November 2011 are a direction towards it. Justice Ruma Pal slammed the judiciary for what she called the seven sins. She listed the sins as:
1. Turning a blind eye to the injudicious conduct of a colleague. 2. Hypocrisy – the complete distortion of the norm of judicial independence.
3. Secrecy – the fact that no aspect of Judicial Conduct including the appointment of Judges to the High and Supreme Court is transparent.
4. Plagiarism – meaning that very often SC Judges lift whole passages from earlier decisions by their predecessors and do not acknowledge this – and use long-winded, verbose language. 5. Self Arrogance – wherein the Higher Judiciary has claimed crass superiority and independence to mask their own indiscipline and transgression of norms and procedures. 6. Professional Arrogance – whereby Judges do not do their homework and arrive at decisions of grave importance ignoring precedent or Judicial Principle. 7. Nepotism – wherein favours are sought and dispensed by some Judges for gratification of varying manner.
Concluding, with the remarks of ‘Atifete Jahjaga’, who served as Deputy Director of Kosovo Police holding the rank of Major General and first female President of the Republic of Kosovo that “Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation”.
(Concluded)