The Hindu : `Criminal justice system on verge of collapse'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 13, 2003

National

National

`Criminal justice system on verge of collapse'

LONDON JUNE 12. The criminal justice system in India is on the verge of collapse owing to an inordinate delay in getting a judicial verdict and many a potential litigant seem to take recourse to a parallel mafia-dominated system of `justice' that has sprung up in metros such as Mumbai, Soli J. Sorabjee, Attorney-General, has said.

``Hamlet's lament about the law's delays still haunts us in India and the horrendous arrears of cases in courts is a disgraceful blot on our legal system, especially the criminal justice delivery system,'' Mr. Sorabjee said while delivering a talk on "Fundamental Rights in the Indian Constitution: Rhetoric or Reality?" here last night.

Jeffrey Jowell, QC (Queen's Counsel), Professor of Public Law, University College of London, who presided, described Mr. Sorabjee as one of the greatest lawyers.

Striking an alarm bell, Mr. Sorabjee said: ``The criminal justice system is on the verge of collapse. Because justice is not dispensed speedily, people have come to believe that there is no such thing as justice in courts.

``This perception has caused many a potential litigant who has been wronged to settle out of court on terms which are unfair to him or to secure justice by taking the law into his own hands or by recourse to a parallel mafia-dominated system of `justice' that has sprung up in metropolitan centres such as Mumbai.

``The gravity of this development cannot be underestimated. Justice delayed will not only be justice denied, it will be the Rule of Law destroyed,'' he said.

Referring to measures initiated by the Government to clear the backlog of cases, Mr. Sorabjee, who is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague for six years, said fast track courts had been established and amendments made to expedite the justice delivery system.

``Alternative Dispute Resolution is vigorously promoted and requisite legislation has been passed on that behalf. Yet, the burden of arrears is still heavy and is very worrisome. The legal profession needs to be transformed in its methods and mindset to overcome this grave problem.''

Mr. Sorabjee said modernising the system and making it user-friendly was one of the urgent tasks. ``Judges must address the problem of arrears seriously and with determination. Judicial unpunctuality in the subordinate courts and in some High Courts must be eschewed. Adjournments should not be granted at the drop of a hat especially to accommodate senior counsel who is busy making money in other courts.

``Most important, the Government should fill judicial vacancies which are known in advance in good time.''

The Attorney-General said the time had come to ask: ``Have the ideals of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity proclaimed in the Preamble in grandiloquent language been realised in the working of the Constitution during the last 53 years? Have we redeemed our tryst with destiny? Have fundamental rights been merely in the realm of empty rhetoric or have become living realities for the people of India. Some fundamental rights have become living realities, to some extent, for at least some illiterate, indigent and exploited segments of humanity of India. Environmental pollution has been checked and accountability in the use of hazardous technology has been made possible... ,'' Mr. Sorabjee said. — PTI

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