According to a survey conducted by an NGO , our high courts are one of the slowest in disposing off the pending cases with Allahabad HC being the most lax, taking more than 3 years to dispose off a case and Sikkim the fastest , probably because they have fewer cases being filed.
MG Singh wrote:Kalyani Nandurkar wrote:True...some type of cases such as the ones to related to land disputes go on and on and on for years, ultimately destroying all parties involved. Judicial system all over is so slow and painful that after a point, people ultimately lose all faith in justice. Another point I do not understand is that if they are so tied up with cases and so on, why do courts close in the summer for a long duration like a school vacation.? If justice system is meant to serve people and mete out justice, why it is made inaccessible for major part of the year?
On a number of my visits to USA, I have seen the courts NEVER close there. Special courts even sit on Sundays
We are still following the policies and ways as laid down by the British and more than 65 years of independence, we still have not recognised that those methods are irrelevant and not suited for our needs, even if the concerned may have understood that, they are unwilling to change, as it will mean hard work for them all. Who cares about the needs of the common man, justice is for the privileged!
Judicial System in India has not been able to meet even the modest expectations of the Society. If one sees inordinate delays and the costs, they are bound to lead to frustration. All these factors made the people lose faith on the Judicial system. I believe, the courts are existing for Judges and Lawyers, not for the people. Judiciary system needs urgently a thorough overhauling.
We are still following the policies and ways as laid down by the British and more than 65 years of independence, we still have not recognised that those methods are irrelevant and not suited for our needs, even if the concerned may have understood that, they are unwilling to change, as it will mean hard work for them all. Who cares about the needs of the common man, justice is for the privileged!
It really does not make sense to hold on to something that does not work for us, our system or our country. If all the leaders put their mind to it, they can bring in a better system and clear up the unnecessary red tapism that has become part of the legal system.
When NDA was in power , Arun Jaitley was the law minister and he had come up with many solutions to speed up the judicial process since civil cases were often taking two decades to reach their conclusion. To a certain extent he did succeed also brought in family court to solve domestic issues like divorce , maintenance during separation and domestic violence. This made sure that a good number of cases were shifted to family court and only the civil and criminal cases remained with the sessions court. So, there has been improvement and cases don't take that long now. Another unique feature that we have in India is property cases , often are very different depending on different regions also different castes and communities.
I'm not aware of other types of courts. But I had seen How the Family Courts are functioning. A friend of mine who was working as a teacher in a nearby city was charged with Domestic violence by his wife, just after 6 months of his marriage, which I attended and I know well about him and his family.Whenever. Whenever he is summoned by the court, he used to come and stay with me only to know that the case has been adjourned. Because the Court clerk who records the proceedings had gone on leave to attend a family function. Because there was no extra clerk to record the proceedings., the case has been adjourned.
In this regard,I would say that one of the reasons for poor functioning of the Courts is,Courts are short staffed. It goes without saying, such reasons are the reason for adjournments and piling up of the cases enormously.
I write from my own personal experience. My ancestral family was involved in a property litigation, the case being filed in 1974 and it finally reached Supreme court in 2006 and was settled. Cases in family court have a stipulated time period of 2 and a half years , and even if it takes a little longer Divorce cases do not go on for decades like before. Civil cases take much longer but normally from what I have seen, are moving faster inspite of the adjournments and court vacations. We have a case going n since 2011 and with all the delays and adjournments it has reached the final stages , which would never happen before.
There is a shortage of judges and there are far too many cases no doubt but with computerisation things are moving faster now. Unlike earlier when you had to wait for days together to get an RTC or encumberance certificate , now you can get it immediately ..
I am not saying courts are efficient, they are not...But they are certainly better functioning now than before. May be they have become more corrupt, that I wouldn't know. But the efficiency has increased inspite of shortage of staff. there is a severe shortage of judges and the recent case that we have is ready for judgment since 6 months. But the judge has no time to sit and go through the entire paper work before giving his verdict, which runs to few hundred pages , so he is putting it off.In such a situation one can only blame the government for not providing enough staff, this is true of all states.. There are far too many cases being filed and not enough staff.
Judicial Backlog , shortage of staff, heavy dependence on paper work, Corruption in the Judiciary itself are some factors, likely to stay, I don't know how long. But, a little effort on part of our Government can go a long way in rectifying though not all, some of the problems faced by our judiciary today
usha manohar wrote:I am told that there is a time limit for cases in high courts , which is 18 months. But this rule is hardly followed by the large majority of the people involved. It is not just the judges or advocates but people involved themselves who often delay the cases. This added with the court holidays and study tour of the lawyers and judges makes the matter worse !
I am listening first time about the time limit. It is right that peoples also don't want that case is decided. Any person, specialy crimenal case, get any decision against him in lower court and he/she submitte appeal in upper court, always wants that case never decided.
anil wrote:usha manohar wrote:I am told that there is a time limit for cases in high courts , which is 18 months. But this rule is hardly followed by the large majority of the people involved. It is not just the judges or advocates but people involved themselves who often delay the cases. This added with the court holidays and study tour of the lawyers and judges makes the matter worse !
I am listening first time about the time limit. It is right that peoples also don't want that case is decided. Any person, specialy crimenal case, get any decision against him in lower court and he/she submitte appeal in upper court, always wants that case never decided.
Dragging the case for years on will be beneficial to some people. In this respect, Lawyers are also responsible. In a Land grabbing case of a Landlord relation of mine, I heard my friend asking the Lawyer to manipulate and twist the matters in such a manner that the case runs for years and years.In this process, the Key witnesses died and ultimately, , my friend succeeded in grabbing the land. Now on this land, my friend built a multi million worth flats in vizag.
anil wrote:usha manohar wrote:I am told that there is a time limit for cases in high courts , which is 18 months. But this rule is hardly followed by the large majority of the people involved. It is not just the judges or advocates but people involved themselves who often delay the cases. This added with the court holidays and study tour of the lawyers and judges makes the matter worse !
I am listening first time about the time limit. It is right that peoples also don't want that case is decided. Any person, specialy crimenal case, get any decision against him in lower court and he/she submitte appeal in upper court, always wants that case never decided.
There is definitely a time limit which is never followed because no one questions it. Since everyone wants to delay the process it goes on for years together.
When CJI Thakur broke down in front of Mr Modi saying that since 1987 nothing worthwhile has been done, it shows how little has been done to the legal system so far..The previous government was patting its back but now with all worms in the can coming out one after the other they seem to have lost steam and give contradictory face saving statements !
The Law Commission recommended to increase the number of Judges as early as 1987.. That was the Congress regime.. But the Congress has done nothing precious to increase the number of Judges to decrease the weight on the Judiciary and pending of cases. Seeing the Judge to people ratio, a parliamentary related Standing Committee recommended an increase in Ratio 50 from 10. Now, the PM , Narendra Modi felt the dire necessity to overhaul Judiciary system assured the Judges to do the needful.
@kiran8