AA Edit | ‘Ease of justice’ a worthy goal

A simple and fast justice delivery mechanism is an essential ingredient of a democracy but India has not travelled much on the path in the 75 years of its Independence.

Administration of justice is a painfully slow process in the country — there are about 70,000 cases pending in the Supreme Court as of now, of which more than 10,000 have been pending for more than a decade. The total number pending cases in lower courts across India is more than four crores; of this, close to two lakh are pending for over 30 years. Unacceptable statistics, by all means.  

There are a lot of factors contributing to the clogging of courts. Shortage of judicial officers, lack of infrastructure, archaic laws and obstructive practices followed by the bar and bench are some of them. There cannot be a change in the state of affairs unless a comprehensive and collective effort is launched.   

It is in this background that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a sensitive judiciary and a faster mechanism to deliver justice. They are essential for a capable nation and a harmonious society, he told a meeting of law ministers and secretaries. The laws must be written in a language that people understand, according to the Prime Minister who also mentioned the plight of lakhs of undertrial prisoners. The Prime Minister has also coined a new term “ease of justice” on the lines of “ease of doing business” and said more than 1,500 old and irrelevant laws have been scrapped in the last eight years to make the process faster.

Admission of a problem is the first step towards solving it, and it is welcome that the topmost political executive in the country is aware of major hindrances in the administration of justice in the country. It is for the government to take the most important steps to reform the judiciary and make “ease of justice” a reality. The Prime Minister must now walk the talk.