Introduction
- Law promises us justice. An aggrieved person looks up to the law of his country to give him justice. Justice is everybody’s right.
- But at the same time what is important is timely justice. It is said that Justice delayed is justice denied which means that if justice is not served at the right time, that is equivalent to having no justice.
Key points
- We live in a democratic country where everybody has the right to get justice.
- There is a huge backlog of cases in district courts and high courts.
- Some people spend their entire lives waiting for justice and that delayed justice is like no justice at all.
- In 2015-2016, 2.81 crore cases were pending in the district court
- We do not have the required number of judges.
Recent Issues
- It took 18 years to give a judgement on Uphar Cinema fire case where 59 people had lost their lives and hundreds were injured. The court announced a fine of Rs 60 crore for the culprits. Is this justice? Getting a verdict after 18 years and letting the culprit go with just a fine penalty!
- The famous 1984 riots case where about 2800 people lost their lives has now become a quest for hunger. Hunger for justice. There are so many families who still await justice.
- The Nirbahya case is one of the examples. The whole country stood in support of the victim to get her immediate justice but sadly it took the government a year to give judgement for the case. Had there been an immediate death sentence for the rapists, there would have been an example set before the criminals. They would have known the power of law!
- In 2016, only 0.2% of the budget was dedicated to the law ministry. This is the lowest allocation in the world!
- In 2015, of the total pending cases, about 15.8% cases were criminal cases that were pending for more than 5 years. That means the criminals can roam about freely in the country for years, till the judgement remains pending!
- Indian law is complicated and has a number of procedural formalities and technicalities. In a poor country like ours, where people are not aware much and do not have adequate resources, it becomes difficult for them to get timely justice.
What can be done?
- We need an adequate number of judges for fast delivery of case judgements. The government should plan on filling the vacancies fast.
- There have been suggestions for Lok Adaalats and other such bodies for speedy judgements on basic civil cases.
- People in India are not aware of their rights. Awareness and educational programmes for spreading knowledge amongst the people about their rights and powers should be conducted. They should know what does their law promise them
- Transparent systems need to be introduced where justified reasons are given for the delay in judgements.
- There should be a simplification of procedures so that people can understand the system.
Conclusion
- India has the world’s longest constitution dedicated to the people of the country. There should be some revision in laws so that timely justice is ensured to every citizen.
- If a person is in pain now and the medicine is given years later, then that medicine is of no use. That holds true for justice as well!
- Timely justice is a serious concern that should be dealt with as soon as possible so that people do not lose their faith in the law of their country.