Why the judicial system has broken down and how to fix it
Oh, poor litigant, people languishing in jails.” His voice trembled a little. “In the name of development and progress, I beseech you,” he looked at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “to rise to the occasion and realise that it’s not enough to c-r-i-t-i-c-i-s-e.” The sentence trailed off, pauses between words got longer. Heads jerked up and eyes widened. It was the sound of a man struggling to keep his voice from betraying his feelings. But it wasn’t just any man. The 43rd Chief Justice of India, Tirath Singh Thakur, stood on stage, jaws tight, eyes averted, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief to mop his eyes. The silence inside Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan on April 25 was absolute, people exchanged glances in shock and dismay. The prime minister looked on intently from his seat on the stage.
It actually took all of 37 minutes and four seconds for the CJI to force the nation to sit up and pay attention. Exactly the time in which judges around the country conclude 15 hearings and decide seven cases, on average. That’s because judges in the busiest courts spend an average of 2.5 minutes to hear a case and about five minutes to decide one (see following story). Not because our judges are in a hurry. But because they can hardly devote more time to a case, such is the shortfall of judges in the country. As mentioned in the Lok Sabha on March 3, 2016, 44 per cent judges are missing in high courts, 25 per cent in subordinate courts and 19 per cent in the Supreme Court.
FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
Denne historien er fra May 09, 2016-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 09, 2016-utgaven av India Today.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Decoupling Dilemma
As Tensions Between India And China Thaw And The Trade Between Them Grows, India Faces The Tough Task Of Keeping Cheap Chinese Imports At Bay While Encouraging Those That Its Domestic Industry Needs
Killer Stress
Unhealthy work practices in Indian companies are taking a toll on employees, triggering health issues and sometimes even death
Shuttle Star
Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia
There's No Planet B
All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'
A Musical Marriage
Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation
Family Saga
RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
