It
is my pleasure to join you today for the inauguration of the Rule of Law
Project. Rule of law is the foundation stone for the efficient
functioning of our democracy. Only by following the rule of law can we seek to
deliver timely and quality justice; reinforce public confidence in the law;
facilitate investments; enable better distributive justice and promote
basic human rights. The Preamble to the Constitution identifies securing
social, economic and political justice for all citizens as one of its key
objectives. Access to fair, quick and speedy justice is a constitutional
guarantee recognized under Article100
14, which lays down the principle of non-discrimination by
assuring every person of the right to equality before the law120 and equal protection of laws, and
Article 21, which guarantees that no person will be deprived of their life or
personal liberty except in accordance with the procedure
established by law. It is the responsibility of all organs of the state
to ensure that the administration of justice is made easily accessible
and affordable for the common man. Yet we find that courts in
the country are burdened on account of the large number of
cases that are pending200
before them, often leading to delays in the delivery of justice. The socially
and economically weaker sections of society are the ones who suffer the
most on this account. Very often they do not have the capacity or the
resources240 to face prolonged
legal disputes causing them to either forgo their rights or settle for
less than their due share. One example of this can be seen from the
large number of undertrial prisoners, many of whom belong to the marginalized
sections of the society. Securing the timely release of such persons is an
important facet of upholding the rule300
of law, which is why they have the first right to obtain timely and free
legal aid from the state. Article 39A, which falls under the category of
Directive Principles of State Policy speaks directly on this issue. It
requires that the legal system should operate in a manner that promotes
justice on the basis of equal opportunity,360 particularly by providing free legal aid
so that citizens are not denied the opportunity for securing justice on
account of economic or other disabilities. The National Legal
Services Authority and State and District Legal Services Authorities have
been established for400
this purpose under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 to
provide free legal services to the weaker sections420 of the society. They are also
responsible for organizing Lok Adalats for the amicable settlement of
disputes in a timely and cost-effective manner. The Government is strongly
committed to the cause of improving the investment climate in the country,
which is the key to overall growth and development of the economy.
Recognizing that timely enforcement of commercial contracts is one480 of the main factors that influence
our ranking on the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Government has accorded a500 high priority to improving India’s
performance in this area. Some of the measures being undertaken on priority
basis for ensuring timely and effective enforcement of commercial contracts
involve exploring the possibility of setting up of specialized fast
track courts and tribunals at the subordinate level and
specialized commercial divisions at the High Court’s level to deal with the
commercial cases560 and
encouraging arbitration to resolve contractual disputes. This is in
addition to the proposals that are being pursued for the adoption of
information technology solutions and court and case management systems for
handling such cases. The Law Commission of India600 has recently submitted its 253rd Report
on Commercial Division and Commercial Appellate Division of High Courts and
Commercial Courts Bill, 2015 containing their recommendations on speedy
disposal of high value commercial suits. The report contains several640 valuable suggestions that are
currently in the process of being examined by the Government. Commercial
and non-commercial cases alike are affected by the issue of overall delays and
pendency of cases in courts. This poses a complex problem that needs to be
addressed through a combination of legislative, policy and administrative
measures. We are therefore working towards examining the real700 reasons for delays in courts,
identifying the appropriate solutions and taking all necessary steps to
implement those solutions.
There
is720 a shortage of judges and
judicial officers which needs to be addressed through continuous
increases in the sanctioned strength of judges and at the same time
by the filling the existing vacancies in the posts of judges and judicial
officers. As a result of concerted efforts made by all stakeholders
the sanctioned strength in district and subordinate courts has increased. As
regards High Courts, the Chief Justice of India has given ‘in principle’ concurrence
to increase the strength of High800
Court Judges by 25 per cent of the existing strength. Despite the gradual
increase in the sanctioned strength of judicial officers, there still remain a
large number of vacancies in subordinate courts. We have been
coordinating with State Governments840
and High Courts to address this issue. It has been observed by various
expert committees that some State Governments are spending a very small part of
their total budgetary resources on the judiciary. While the primary
responsibility of infrastructure development for the High Courts and
subordinate courts rests with the State Governments, the Central Government has
also been augmenting the900
resources of State Governments under a Centrally Sponsored Scheme for
Development of Infrastructure Facilities for the Judiciary.
The
CPC has been amended to introduce several provisions, such as those relating to
limiting unnecessary adjournments and imposition of costs for the
same, for ensuring that trials in civil cases are concluded in an
expeditious manner. However, these provisions are960 not being strictly adhered to by courts
leading to delays in court proceedings. Proper training and sensitization of
judges on these issues can help in achieving better implementation. The indiscriminate
use of writ jurisdiction and multiple levels of appeals also1000 leads to delays in the final disposal
of cases. Currently, our litigation system is largely advocate-driven
rather than being driven by the courts. While on one hand this needs
to be addressed through proper training and sensitization of judges, on the
other, there is also a need to bring about appropriate reforms in the Bar.
A robust regulatory mechanism to monitor the conduct of members of the
legal profession will help in the proper implementation of the legal1080 provisions aimed at expeditious
disposal of cases. Certain types of cases, such as those pertaining
to dishonour of cheques under1100
Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 and traffic challan
cases under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 form a large number of the
pending cases before courts. Bringing about appropriate amendments to these
legislations to address such cases can help in reducing the burden of
courts. A proposal to amend the Negotiable Instruments Act to introduce
measures to resolve cases arising under Section 138 through ADR mechanisms is
currently under consideration. Similarly, the draft Road Transport and
Safety Bill, 2014 prepared by the Ministry of Road Transport1200 will introduce provisions for reduction
in traffic challan cases and resolution of traffic cases without resorting to
litigation as well as expeditious disposal of motor accident cases.1227
