India is caught between two conflicting visions of the nation—a progressive constitutional one and a conservative one—each with its own view of the role of the judiciary. The fundamental struggle between these has profound implications for the country’s judicial system.
No one can disagree with the Chief Justice of India that India has too few judges. China today has over two lakh judges for a population only slightly more than that of India. Even after an explosive growth in judge strength in India in the last decade (judge strength nearly doubled from about 11,000 to about 20,000), India still has only some 10 per cent of the number of judges that China has and only some 66 per cent of the judge strength of the United States, which has some 30,000 judges.
The Chief Justice is again absolutely right when he says that many judges are hugely overworked (this is, of course, no different from the situation in which many other public servants providing equally important services in our country, such as police personnel, teachers, doctors, nurses, etc., find themselves). However, the question of judge strength and judicial reform cannot be discussed without addressing more fundamental questions: Why do we need more judges? What is the role of the judiciary? What do we expect of our judges?
FEUDAL IDEA OF INDIA
The role of any judiciary is derived from the vision of the nation of which it is a part. India is caught between two conflicting visions of the nation—a progressive constitutional vision and a conservative social vision—each with its own view of the role of the judiciary and the number and types of judges needed. The conservative social vision of India is of a strong nation that derives its strength from the ruling classes. India is envisioned as a nation united by a common set of beliefs and values emanating from and authorised by the ruling classes and imposed on the masses. In this view, a strong India equals a strong ruling class (the “iron frame” or “authoritarian” vision). This vision is, in essence, an attempt to update and revive the feudal idea of India.
この記事は FRONTLINE の May 27 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は FRONTLINE の May 27 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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