Psaram sir,

Why is that a Retired/working policeman doesn't say anything bad about police department? or even hint to improve it? Engineering fraternity doesn't seem to discuss the shabby engineering done by their fellow tribes? Likewise, very rare to hear about a teacher on crusade to cleanse the education system? So the rule applies to politicians and babus? Why single out them?

Nice to hear legal luminaries, former bureacrat  and a retd IPS taking on netas? But who will bell the judiciary? Not necessary to prosecute the corrupt judicial officers, but atleast address the infrastructure needs of the judicial system.

What would take it to shake our judicial system to deliver that promised justice for poorest of the poor in least possible time?

A case in point - (Courtesy - www.rediff.com, Why deliver inconsistent justice? )

"...A dusty June of 2002. A petition on behalf of the victims of the Gujarat riots by 250 eminent writers and artists was filed in the Supreme Court.

It craved for its urgent attention, as the relief camps for the displaced were being dismantled by the BJP government and they had nowhere to go. There was also the plea for compensation and other measures.

A very senior lawyer told us that it would have to wait for at least a year if not more to be heard. How right he was! Its turn came 18 months after filing of the case. By that time many of the prayers had become meaningless. ..."

Compare to this look at the SC's urgency in disposing Sidhu's case for fighting re-election post his conviction in lower court.

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1. Absence of 'loser pays costs' system.
2. Low court fees to file the case in Indian Courts
3. Inadequate judge strength
4. Not awarding costs against the loser resulting in frivolous litigation are three major causes of delay in the disposal of cases.

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I am amazed at the 'Frivolous PIL' law/rule/penalty. I dont know how many actual PILs have been eliminated. Only a matter of time when a corrupt judge uses this to his/her advantage. What is most annoying is that a CJI has brought this rule.

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It indeed is a well researched / written blog entry on the health of Judiciary. At  any standards the health of this important arm of the civic triangle, is far from healthy.  

 As Santosh Hegde had pointed out in his corruption related public meetings, even judges and judiciary as such are no exception. Therefore 

1. The Jan Lokpal bill needs to be passed.
2. Voting needs to be made compulsory

    

Sayed sir, you may like to kindly refer to the related posts / discussions like [1] and [2].

Thanks.

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Not one or two, this dismissed transport employee from Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu has won 14 judicial orders in his favour - seven in the Madras high court, five in the Supreme Court and one each in the industrial tribunal and a criminal court. When he started his legal battle, T Neethivilangan, who was dismissed as junior superintendent in Cholan Roadways Corporation (CRC) in 1983, was 34 years old. Now, he is 62, a good four years past his age of retirement. With the TN government itself donning the role of a rogue litigant bent on circumventing all judicial orders, Neethivilangan was denied his rightful benefits all these years.

For the full report in the ToI, click here.

Unbelievable how the state can torment a person if it chooses to. What are organisations like the Human Rights Commission etc doing, I wonder.

A senior lawyer had once told me that the tribunals and courts are generally cluttered with government cases, with no official wanting to leave an order against the state unchallenged, whether there is merit to the case or not, for fear of it being seen as favouring the opposite party, and affecting the official's personal record.

Things have gone really too far - some solutions have to evolve. When is it ever going to happen, and who is going to make it happen?

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This debate misses the main reason why the Lokpal is likely to flop. Even if the Lokpal controls the CBI, it will have no control over the courts. These seem incapable of convicting any resourceful person beyond appeals within his or her lifetime. Little will be achieved if the Lokpal initiates a thousand cases that then drag on for decades, with the accused out on bail.

Example: the murder case of LN Mishra, former chief minister of Bihar and right-hand man of Indira Gandhi, is dragging on 37 years after his killing in 1975. The 27-year-old man accused of murder is now an ailing 64. Of the 39 witnesses he cited to prove his innocence, 31 have died, gravely prejudicing the case against him. No less than 22 different judges have handled the trial over the years. The case is being tried on a day-by-day basis, the fastest possible. If this happens in a VIP’s case, what hope of justice do lesser mortals have?

The corruption case against Sukh Ram, former telecom minister, has gone on for 16 years. The High Court has just pronounced him guilty, but he can appeal to the Supreme Court. He is now 85 years old and ailing, and may not live to hear the Supreme Court’s verdict.

These are just two of a myriad of examples. The problem is not limited to criminal cases—civil cases are even more problematic. The IFC and World Bank produce an annual Doing Business report on how difficult it is to do business in different countries. In the category “enforcement of contract” , India ranks 182out of 183 countries! It is the second worst in the world. India is sometimes called a miracle economy, but the real miracle is how a country with such a pathetic judicial system grows fast at all.

For the full text of the blog by Mr S A Aiyar in the Sunday ToI, click here.

Mr V Balasubramanian, retired additional chief secretary, GoK, has a suggestion - "Replace the "adversarial system of jurisprudence", where an accused is innocent until proven guilty, with the Continental system of "inquisitorial jurisprudence", where an accused has to prove his innocence once he is charged by an 'investigating magistrate' (check this). Is that a possible answer?

Whatever, finding a proper way out of this sad state of affairs has become the prime need of the country.

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