MAY 2024

Here, we will continue to discuss some earnest and consequential issues that threaten the very fabric of India. Interestingly, those issues are not even on the manifesto or agenda of the political parties in this national election, the elections of 2024.

In the ongoing discourse about the real threats, one critical aspect that often finds itself under scrutiny is the justice system. The delivery of justice stands as a foundation upholding the rights and liberties of its citizens of its residents.

•  क्या भारत की न्याय व्यवस्था, राष्ट्र की दुश्मन बन रही है? 

However, the journey towards justice in India is riddled with challenges that threaten its very essence and the very well-being of the population.

When we speak of justice, it encompasses far more than courtroom battles or legal verdicts. 

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It embodies a spectrum of rights and privileges enshrined in our constitution, ranging from equality, freedom of expression, women's rights, human rights in general, privacy, and property rights. 

So, in our daily lives, we often uphold these rights instinctively, only resorting to legal courses, when they are infringed upon, only in extreme cases.

The legal process has become a punishment for all parties.

Otherwise, people commonly live in an uncontested and harmonious way away from the legal battles. Not every day do people want to go to court to contest the violation of their rights. 

As we all know, the Indian legal system operates on a three-tier structure: lower courts, high courts and supreme court, and the supreme court serves as the apex body.

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The legal process has become a punishment for all parties

Where is the threat? The staggering backlog of cases paints a grim picture, with an estimated  5 (five) crore cases pending across various levels of the judiciary. 

The justice system of India is grappling with an astonishing and overwhelming burden, and then compounding the issue is the shortage of judges, particularly in high courts where roughly 30% of the positions are vacant. 

So, we have around 1100 judges to impart justice in the high court, and 330 vacancies are still pending.

•  क्या भारत की न्याय व्यवस्था, राष्ट्र की दुश्मन बन रही है? 

Consequently, this glaring gap between the caseload and the judicial capacity is clearly a failure, and it undermines the legal system's efficiency and efficacy. 

Moreover, there are concerns regarding the quality of judicial appointments; it is understood that an inadequate vetting process and the absence of stringent criteria often result in inconsistency in the 

calibre of the judges in the lower judiciary, and then India has a collegium system of judicial appointments in higher court.

Now, that also warrants some reform to ensure meritocracy and competence, and despite the faith of the population in the judiciary, 

the delivery of the justice often becomes lengthy, suffering with cases languishing for years if not decades in the courtroom.

In a comparative analysis, the stark reality of India's judicial timelines is compared with that of the European courts. 

The European courts conclude cases in an average of 16 months, the United Kingdom 6 months, about 180 days. Indian (cases) average exceeds 10 (ten) years.

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The European courts conclude cases in an average of 16 months...

The Supreme Court alone contains a backlog of about 70,000 cases, highlighting the challenge's magnitude. 

We should also be aware that most of the cases in the Supreme Court involve the state and its authorities. So many times, it is also the constitutional bench.

Therefore, any delay in the delivery of the judgment in these courts, especially in the Supreme Court, is consequential to the country's substantial population. 

The point here is that there are just 34 judges who have to complete a backlog of 70,000 cases. What does 5 (five) crore pending cases mean for India? Considering India's population of 18 years plus, it is about 96 crore.

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Indian (cases) average exceeds 10 (ten) years.

So that makes about 5% of the Indians in a queue for seeking remedy and justice in some way or the other from the Indian courts. So that makes 1 in 20 Indians wait for some outcome from a formal court, a lower court, or a higher judiciary.

Now consider that each litigant is consequential to 4 to 5 fellow beings.

Hence, the number of Indians affected is around 1 in every 4. A basic arithmetic makes up about 25% of the population. Thus, the repercussions of systemic failures extend beyond the legal technicalities of human lives.

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The Supreme Court alone contains a backlog of about 70,000 cases...

Instances of individuals languishing in jail for decades, which is another problem, is the under trials.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 67% of the prison population is of under-trials. 

So, there is a long waiting list for their cases to be heard. In May of 2022, in the typical case of Chandresh Maskhole, he was acquitted by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh after being in jail for 13 years.

He was not one of the kinds. There was another man from Bihar; he was acquitted of murder after 28 years in jail. 

When he was arrested, he was 28, and by the time he went to court and was freed, he was 58. It is one more life wasted; similarly, there are many cases like these.

Now, each delayed verdict represents a miscarriage of justice. It robs an individual of their prime years and is a systemic injustice that gets reflected across society.

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 ...67% of the prison population is of under-trials 

It reverberates throughout the society as a dysfunctional legal system. So when two-thirds of India's prison population is under trial awaiting their day in court, this is only a breeding ground for unethical practices and abuse of power. 

It is urgently required to address these systemic challenges, fortify the court system, expedite proceedings, and bring a robust justice delivery system.

It requires a targeted system, and governments must say that within the next 10 (ten) years, they will bring the backlog to only 10% of the cases. 

•  क्या भारत की न्याय व्यवस्था, राष्ट्र की दुश्मन बन रही है? 

So, looping back to the original question as to why the justice delivery system in India is an enemy of India, why it is threatening India. That is because it undermines democracy and the rule of law.

A robust justice system is fundamental to upholding democracy. 

When the system fails to deliver timely and fair justice, it erodes public trust in democratic institutions, fosters a sense of impunity, weakens the foundation of India's democracy and makes it vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation.

It is crucial that we stop the social discontent and instability that breeds because of delayed justice. 

As we saw in the case of Nirbhaya, it took 7 (seven)  years from crime to the execution of convicts and that too when it was done on a fast-track court, which was set up immediately after the public outrage.

As we have seen, delayed justice is also a human rights violation because it translates into exploitation of the marginalized and 

vulnerable population, people languishing in overcrowded prisons without trial. Significantly, it also undermines national security. 

How? 

Because a weakened justice system encourages the criminals, it encourages crime related to terrorism and organized crime, emboldens the perpetrators, and makes it easy for them to 

compromise with law and enforcement efforts; therefore, the failure to address security threats swiftly and effectively, it undermines the safety and security of the nation.

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A robust justice system is fundamental to upholding democracy.

We have the case of Kasab; it was on camera, and the pieces of evidence were there, but still, it took roughly 4 (four) years to get to the convict's execution even though it was a high-profile case of national interest.

•   क्या भारत की न्याय व्यवस्था, राष्ट्र की दुश्मन बन रही है? 

So, when we say that the dysfunctional justice delivery system is an enemy of India, we want to highlight the existential threat it poses to the nation's core values, nation's stability and economic progress, and 

therefore, it is a "must" requirement for addressing these challenges and to reform the system in order to safeguard India's democratic principles, societal harmony, economic vitality and of course, last but not least, the national security.

ExpertX wants to submit with due regard to the Honorable Courts in India. Any reference to the Indian justice system is based on publicly available information and general observations and should not be constituted as criticism or contempt of court.

So, this disclaimer serves to ensure compliance with the principles of free speech and, of course, with due respect for the judiciary while fostering an open dialogue on matters of public interest.