Union Budget must take note of 'inadequacies' in judicial infra

Justice is a multifaceted proposition. It goes beyond what meets our eyes. It is complex but non-negotiable for peace, happiness and our shared prosperity. Justice delivered through the judicial system is an important part of the socio-political and economic ecosystem of any nation. Most of us have grown up hearing the age-old saying that justice delayed is justice denied. For me, justice delayed is justice killed. Unfortunately, fast-paced delivery of justice has always been a matter of concern in our country. The India of 21st century has to be inclusively different. Our dynamics and aspirations have changed in the past 75 years.

Today ours is the 5th largest economy in the world and one of the most attractive investment destinations in the globe. In other words, India is fast emerging as the driver of the world economy. We are holding the G20 summit next year. India has taken over the G20 Presidency from Indonesia, which hosted the G20 summit for the year 2022 at Bali. There is hardly any developed country in the world including China which doesn't want cordial trade relations with us. A country of 135 crore people with a strong middle class and cheap labour is an ideal trade and manufacturing destination for the world's advanced economies!

However, we cannot and must not ignore certain deep wounds from which the blood of common people's helplessness has been oozing out for decades. Peddling lies, doling out false promises, mobilization and polarization of people in the name of fake equality and justice, and playing with their sentiments, religious beliefs and linguistic emotions have always been a part of our electoral permutations and combinations, but in the process only weakening our democracy. Luckily, ours is a much better democracy today as compared to many others in developing countries around the world. In the recent past, development, improving the people's ease of life and enabling them to access quality facilities have also occupied the centre stage in our electoral politics. It is a healthy sign but without much cheer! There are many reasons not to go for drum beating.

Recently, President Droupadi Murmu recaptured the issue of lakhs of poor people languishing in jails for years and years even after getting the bail as they have none to fill their bail bonds. Majority of them are accused of petty offences. In her address to the valedictory function of the Constitution Day celebration at Vigyan Bhavan organized by the Supreme Court on November 26, she recalled the great contributions of the founding fathers, stating that "they had their own dreams and ideas about the character of this nation … They all made great sacrifices to ensure that the coming generations would breathe the air of a free nation."

The President said that the cornerstone of the Constitution is summed up in its Preamble. Its singular focus is on how to increase social good. Its entire edifice rests on justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Towards the end of her speech, the President made impromptu observations about her own experience as the Governor of Jharkhand in addressing the problems growing number of undertrial prisoners, who were languishing in jails. She also recalled her days as a political activist in Odisha to highlight that the excessive cost of litigation was a major impediment in delivery of justice and urged the executive, judiciary and legislature to evolve an effective dispute resolution mechanism to mitigate the people's plight.

Time-bound disposal of petty offences requires adequate infrastructure at the district level, manpower, technological upgradation and financial support to the poor people to meet the litigation costs. The Finance Ministry and NITI Aayog in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice must devise a way out as the judicial system in our country is under tremendous pressure. As of May 2022, over 4.7 crore cases are pending in courts across different levels of the judiciary. Of them, 87.4 per cent are pending in subordinate courts, 12.4 per cent in High Courts, while nearly 1,82,000 cases have been pending for over 30 years.

The National Mission for Justice Delivery and Legal Reforms (NMJDLR) was set up in August 2011 with the twin objectives of increasing access by reducing delays and arrears in the system and enhancing accountability through structural changes and by setting performance standards and capacities. It has been pursuing a co-ordinated approach for phased liquidation of arrears and pendency in judicial administration, which, inter-alia, involves better infrastructure for courts including computerization, increase in strength of subordinate judiciary, policy and legislative measures in the areas prone to excessive litigation, re-engineering of court procedure for quick disposal of cases and emphasis on human resource development.

The outcome of NMJDLR needs to be audited annually. According to official data, Rs 9,13.21 crores have been released since the inception of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary in 1993-94. The number of court halls has increased from 15,818 as on 30.6.2014 to 20,993 as on 30.6.2022 and the number of residential units has increased from 10,211 to 18,502. In addition, 2,777 court halls and 1,659 residential units are under construction (as per MIS data). The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for the Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Judiciary has been extended till 2025-26 at a total cost of Rs 9,000 crore, out of which central share will be Rs 5,307 crore.

Similarly, the government has been implementing the e-Courts Mission Mode Project throughout the country for information and communication technology enablement of district and subordinate courts. The number of computerized District and Subordinate courts has increased to 18,735 so far. WAN connectivity has been provided to 99.3 per cent of court complexes. New and user-friendly version of Case Information Software has been developed and deployed at all the computerized District and Subordinate Courts. Video conferencing facilities have been enabled between 3,240 court complexes and 1,272 corresponding jails. Rs 5.01 crore has been allocated for providing equipment in video conferencing cabins in various court complexes to facilitate virtual hearings. Rs. 12.12 crore has been allocated for 1,732 help desk counters for e-filing in various court complexes.

Even twenty virtual courts have been set up in 16 States and UTs, namely, Delhi (2), Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala (2), Maharashtra (2), Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jammu & Kashmir (2), Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and West Bengal to try traffic offences. As on 3.3.2022, these courts have handled more than 1.69 crore cases and realized more than Rs 271.48 crore in fines. It is, thus, obvious that efforts are being made to expedite the process of delivering justice through but that is neither adequate nor synchronized to the ground realities. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, more than three-fourths of India's jail inmates are undertrial prisoners. Of the 554,034 prisoners, 427,165, or 77 percent, were undertrials in 2021. This was a 14.9 percent increase from 371,848 undertrials in prison in 2020. District jails had the highest share of undertrials, accounting for 51.4 per cent of the total, followed by central jails (36.2 per cent) and sub-jails (10.4 per cent). Economic equality and shared prosperity will always be an oasis for us if justice is compromised in any respect. The Union Budget is of paramount importance which not only sets the tone of our economic contour but also serves as the roadmap in our continued efforts to build a socio-economic order where no one is left behind. As we enter into Amrit Kaal – that is the next 25 years of our independence – we have to make justice in all its forms an integral part of our annual financial planning. Holistic justice is of paramount importance in every developed country. As we aspire to be one among them, let us begin with what President Droupadi Murmu has succinctly kept before!

(The writer is a senior journalist, columnist and author. The views expressed are strictly his personal)