62 years for justice! Battling Pre- Independence Court Cases!

Time to restore people’s faith in the judiciary

THE TRIBUNE recently carried a report about the 62-year-old journey of a civil case. This is a sad commentary on Indian judiciary. Having originated in a sub-court at Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in 1946, it travelled through several courts. This long journey for a suit that dealt with a minor issue is totally inexplicable. Surely, the delay could have been avoided if the courts — and the advocates — viewed the case from a human angle. It would be unfair to blame one particular court or judge for the malaise. But clearly, it was not handled properly right from the day it was filed in the Coimbatore court. It is always the poor litigants who face the brunt of slow dispensation of justice. For the rich, it matters less whether the case is disposed of expeditiously or not. What is the purpose of the judicial process if one does not have the guarantee of getting justice even in one’s lifetime?

Perhaps, in no other country do the wheels of justice move as slowly as in India. To be fair, though the first decree in this case came in October 1947, innumerable appeals in the Madras High Court challenging the decree contributed to the delay. The Supreme Court, too, cannot be absolved of the blame, because it remitted the matter back to the Coimbatore court in November 1986, i.e., 42 years after the suit was filed!

It is time effective measures were taken to speed up justice. Otherwise, people will lose faith in the judiciary. The plurality of appeals, the frequency and dilatory revisions and reviews can be avoided if the system is trimmed and there is an attitudinal change among all the stakeholders — judges, advocates and litigants. The Centre and the states should take a serious view of the entire legal system and implement the recommendations made by the Law Commission and the Malimath Committee for tackling the problem of mounting arrears. There is no use if these reports remain on paper. Sadly, a lot of time has been wasted to resolve a problem that undermines the legitimate rights of the litigants.

62 years for justice! Time to restore people’s faith in the judiciary

Comment: Tamilnadu holds the record for oldest court cases. The backlog is compounded by lawyers taking the litigants for a eternal ride and making them paupers enroute. Truly a sad state of affairs. Citizens indeed are silent torch bearers of Democracy.