Judges Unfit for Salary HIke

S.O.S e - Clarion Of Dalit - Weekly Newspaper On Web

Working For The Rights & Survival Of The Oppressed

Editor: NAGARAJA.M.R… VOL.11 issue.04…… . 01 / 02 / 2017

Editorial : Justice Delayed & Denied

Government Job Maxim

a. “Two punch one lunch ( work ) ?”

b. “Government Job is God’s work. So officials are waiting for god to do his own work !!!”

Judges , Police and other public servants responsible for delay in justice under one pretext or the other ( while they shamelessly draw lakhs of rupees pay & perks from public exchequer for themselves ) are totally responsible for :

1. Destruction of evidences , records , witnesses.

2. Time bar of case.

3. For giving free reigns to criminals to continue with crimes.

4. Concerned Judges , Police & other government officials fully liable to pay compensation from their personal pockets to the aggrieved towards losses due to delayed justice.

Hoping duty consciousness will dawn on our public servants.

Your’s

Nagaraja Mysuru raghupathi

Salary of Chief Justice of India Rupees 100000 per month & salary of supreme court judge Rupees 90000 per month plus 5 star heritage bungalow , 5 star air / train travel , 5 star health care facility , etc all at tax payers expense

Hunger Deaths Malnutrition Deaths Poverty Earning Less than Rupees 32 per day

Honest Hard Working Child Laborers Earning Less Than Rupees 32 per day

Corrupt Dishonest Criminal Public Servants Earning More than Rupees 5000 per day Murderers of Justice

After 8 Years, Judges To Get A Huge Pay Hike - Close To 300 Per Cent

The judges of the Supreme Court and High Court will soon receive a huge pay hike. The Chief Justice of India TS Thakur has written to the government, forwarding a judges' committee report which recommended a hike of over 300% including pension and perks.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley has agreed with most of the recommendations, sources said. A cabinet note is being prepared, which after formal clearance, will go to parliament.

The salaries of the judges were last hiked eight years ago. But the implementation of the new hike can take time as the hikes of lawmakers - current and former - the President and the Vice-President are still pending.

At present, the Chief Justice of India gets a salary of Rs. 1 lakh. Against the judges' committee recommendation to hike his salary by Rs. 3 lakh, the government has agreed to hike it by Rs. 2.8 lakh.

For Supreme Court judges, the present salary is Rs. 90,000. The judges' committee recommended a pay hike of Rs. 2.8 lakh and the government has agreed to an increase of Rs. 2.5 lakh.

The salary of High Court judges will increase from Rs. 80,000 to Rs. 2.25 lakh against the recommendation of Rs. 2.5 lakh.

The government has not agreed to an increase of house rent allowance, since a committee is already looking into the issue following the 7th pay commission recommendations.

Under the pay commission recommendations, they get a steep hike in funds for furnishing their houses. It ranges from Rs. 10 lakh for the Chief Justice of India to 6 lakh for judges of High Court and 1,500 free phone calls. The judges will continue to get free water up to 36 kilo liters and free power of 10,000 units.

The pensions of the judges will be hiked as well. The Chief Justice of India will get Rs. 16,80,000 plus dearness allowance, the Supreme Court judges Rs. 15 lakh plus dearness allowance and High Court judges Rs. 13.5 lakh plus dearness allowance a year. Their gratuity would be doubled to Rs. 20 lakh.

Millions spent on flying Supreme Court judges abroad

December 4th, 2008

The high priests of India’s highest judiciary appear to have a fondness for flying high, suggests a Supreme Court account of foreign jaunts undertaken by its judges.According to information divulged by the apex court under the Right To Information (RTI) act, present Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan undertook 12 foreign jaunts from 2005 till now, costing the public exchequer a whopping Rs.7.53 million (Rs.75.3 lakh) on airfares alone.

Nine of these trips were taken after he became chief justice in January 2007 and three while he was a Supreme Court judge.

This amount does not take into account other expenses like boarding, the justice department said in its reply to RTI activist Dev Ashish Bhattacharya.

“The department has given me the record of last five financial years only of airfares borne by the government. But they have kept mum about other expenditures incurred by the judges during their visits abroad,” Bhattacharya said, adding that if the accounts were audited then it should not be difficult to provide details of other expenses as well.

The various countries visited by Balakrishnan as part of his “official duty” are the US, Britain, Canada, Hong Kong, France, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, China and the Philippines. He visited Britain four times and Canada twice.

His wife accompanied him nine times in the 12 tours, which sometimes clubbed together two or more countries.

The apex court’s detailed account of expenses incurred on the judges’ official tours abroad since 2003 reveals that Balakrishnan’s foreign jaunts have proved to be the costliest.

The airfares of all the foreign jaunts made by his predecessor Y.K. Sabharwal amounted to Rs.3.65 million (Rs.36 lakh). During his tenure as an apex court judge between January 2000 and October 2005 and later as chief justice of India January 2007, Sabharwal went abroad 10 times.

The chief justice before him, R.C. Lahoti, went abroad six times and the airfares alone cost the exchequer Rs.2.78 million (Rs.27.8 lakh). His wife accompanied him in all his official visits abroad.

Interestingly, not all judges have been so extravagant.

For instance, Justice Dalveer Bhandari’s trip to Nepal in March 2006 cost just Rs.11,569.

In an intriguing instance, three judges, including Balakrishnan, gave highly divergent amounts for a single tour to Britain to take part in the seventh Worldwide Common Law Judiciary Conference in London from April 29 to May 3, 2007.

While Balakrishnan was accompanied by his wife and personal secretary, the other two judges, Ashok Bhan and Arijit Pasayat, also took their spouses along.

At the end — Bhan billed the government Rs.670,976, Pasayat Rs.347,656 and Balakrishnan Rs.430,031.

“I had categorically asked the department to tell me whether taking spouses on official tours on government expense was permitted. However, I got no response on this query,” Bhattacharya said.

Stop the Colonial Practice of Long Vacations for Courts ; CJAR

The Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms has issued a statement suggesting various steps to be taken to improve the efficiency of the Court. The statement issued by its convenor Prashant Bhushan suggested that the Courts to increase the judicial time to litigants, especially to those who have been languishing in jails without recourse to a speedy trial.

Here is the Full text of the Statement The problem of judicial delays has recently gained public attention in light of the impassioned appeal by the Chief Justice of India to the Government, at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices on 24 April 2016, to increase the strength of judges and clear all pending files relating to judicial appointments. The Chief Justice of India also appealed to all relevant stakeholders in the judicial system to work together towards making the system more efficient. He also implored all duty holders to consider cutting down on vacation time and use the additional time to clear long pending cases. These appeals need to be viewed in the context of a situation in which millions of under trials languish in jails across the country and lakhs of civil litigants are waiting endlessly for justice.

Closing down the courts for extended periods of time during the long summer months is a vestige of colonial India. There is no justification in a modern democracy to retain the colonial practice of long vacations for courts. Judicial officers should get service benefits, including leave and vacation benefits, similar to what other public service officials of comparable seniority get. There has been an almost unanimous decision by the judges of the Allahabad High Court to cut short their summer break, to conduct special hearings to clear long pending criminal matters and thereby address the staggering backlog of cases. The Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has written a letter appealing to the members of the Bar, to follow course and cut short vacation time, as well as work on Saturdays.

These are positive voluntary steps which need to be institutionalised and implemented for all courts in India. There have also been welcome news reports of retired judges being reappointed on an ad-hoc basis to tide over the current shortfall in the number of judges. Compulsory video recording of proceedings of all courts is another step which will help ensure that judicial time is not wasted, besides having several other valuable benefits for litigants and justice dispensation and should also be implemented immediately. CJAR strongly supports steps towards increasing the judicial time available to litigants, especially to those who have been languishing in jails without recourse to a speedy trial. CJAR demands that the Supreme Court and other High Courts in the country follow the example set by the Allahabad and Madhya Pradesh High Courts, do away with vacations where the entire court is closed and increase court time.

This will also help address the problems of judicial delays in this country. CJAR applauds and supports the decision of Chief Justice of India to appoint ad-hoc judges, thereby drawing on a pool of available, competent judges, to tide over the judicial backlog. CJAR demands that proceedings of all courts be video recorded – a step which will not only cut down on delays but will also have other salutary effects. Other administrative reforms such as appointment of court managers, pre-trial conferences, using Information Communication Technology for notices, etc., also need to be institutionalised and these steps if taken, will certainly lead to increasing the efficiency of court processes in the long term.

PIL – Justice Denied

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. OF 2015

IN THE MATTER OF

NAGARAJA . M.R

editor SOS e Clarion of Dalit & SOS e Voice for Justice
# LIG 2 , No 761 ,, HUDCO First Stage , Laxmikantanagar ,
Hebbal , Mysore – 570017 , Karnataka State
.
....Petitioner

Versus

Honourable Chief Justice of India & Others

....Respondents

PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 12 to ARTICLE 35 & ARTICLE 51A OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA FOR ISSUANCE OF A WRIT IN THE NATURE OF MANDAMUS UNDER ARTICLE 32 & ARTICLE 226 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA.

To ,
Hon'ble The Chief Justice of India and His Lordship's Companion
Justices of the Supreme Court of India.

The Humble petition of the Petitioner above named.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH :
1. Facts of the case:a. Every human being , every Indian citizen are equal and guaranteed equitable justice as their human right and Constitutional right.

b. In india mafia of powers that be and government ensure that cases drag on for years , so that poor litigant either dies before judgement day or opts out in the middle. Due to this delaying tactics , many poor people rather suffer injustice instead of seeking justice in courts. Mafia indirectly forces them to keep away from litigation.

c. Due to occupation induced health problems my health is deteriorating day by day , some of the PILs concerning national security , public welfare I have filed are two decades old , still no justice in sight. Judges not even admitted the cases.

d. Actual working hours , working days for judges are less in india. Too many case adjournments , less number of judges , too many holidays for judges like summer vacation , winter vacation , working hours less than 8 hours per day , etc.

e. Judges work less but enjoy 5 star pay & perks at public expense.

f. Due to denial of justice common people suffer injustice for more time or till their death. Say some falsely implicated persons suffer in jail for years till their acquittal by courts , some petty criminals whose crime attracts one year imprisonment suffers in jail for ten years. Because they are not well connected , cann’t afford hi fi advocates , bail fees.

g. Due to lethargic judiciary , some land acquisition cases drag on for years land looser suffers also the project cost escalates by hundreds thousands of crores of rupees.

h. The lethargic Judiciary in India itself is the biggest violator of common man’s human rights , fundamental rights. It is the culprit responsible for loss of thousands of crores of rupees to public exchequer due to project cost escalations.

i. when a common man’s human rights , human rights is violated in the form of delaying tactics by court of law , judiciary , the presiding judge becomes a criminal and liable to pay damages to the aggrieved.

j. The central government and state government yearly spend thousands of crores of rupees unnecessarily like purchasing new cars for ministers , renovation , interior decorations of minister’s bungalows , foreign jaunts , etc. These are all not priority one spending. Out of these spending how many more judges could be appointed , paid salaries.

k. when compared to project cost escalations of thousands of crores of rupees caused due to case delays , is it not wise on the part of government to appoint requisite number of judges with additional budget burden of few crores of rupees.

l. Both central and state governments are the biggest litigants in the country.

m. Government is manipulating judicial process by denying finance to appoint more judges , to create more court infrastructures.

n. We common people are imposed with time limits to mandatorily comply with, in our interactions with other public , with government authorities , with courts itself. For our failures we common people are penalized.

0. Paradoxically , there is no mandatory time limits for judges , public servants to finish specific works concerning public. In most of the cases they adopt delaying tactics , deny justice still they are not penalized and don’t pay any compensation to the aggrieved public.

p. Due to delaying tactics of judges , many anti national crimes , terror attacks took place and still continuing which could have been well averted in time if judges took timely action. For helping mafia by the way of delayed justice , mafia rewards some of those judges with post retirement postings , promotions , site allotments , etc.

q. The Judiciary has the right , authority , power to order government to allocate finance for appointing judges , setting up court infrastructure. If the government gives ruse of no money in it’s account , courts can definitely monitor spending of government , cut down on waste , non-priority spending of government , divert such money for appointment of judges , court infrastructure development. No need for CJI to weep before prime minister. Judges themselves never consider the sufferings of weeping litigants. It shows the weakness of CJI and a shame to our nation.

2. Question(s) of Law:

Is it right for judges to deny justice . is it right on the part of judges to delay justice under various ruses to common man , violate their human rights , fundamental rights.

3. Grounds:
Requests for equitable justice , Prosecution of judges responsible for case delays.

4. Averment:

Please read details at :

Honourable Chief Justice of India TAKE ACTION

https://sites.google.com/site/eclarionofdalit/honourable-cji-take-action ,

https://www.scribd.com/doc/312858947/Honourable-CJI-Take-Action

Hereby , I do request the honorable supreme court of India to consider this as a PIL for : “writ of Mandamus” and to issue instructions to the concerned public servants in the following cases to perform their duties & to answer the questions.

The Petitioner has sent many letters / appeals / petitions to supreme court of india & other courts through e-mail , DARPG website & through regular mail requesting them to consider those as PILs. But none ofthem were admitted , even acknowledgement for receipts were not given. See How duty conscious ,our judges are & see how our judges are sensitive towards life , liberty of citizens , common men & see how careless our judges are towards anti national crimes , crimes worth crores of rupees. That the present petitioner has not filed any other petition (which are admitted by courts) in any High Court or the Supreme Court of India on the subject matter of the present petition.

PRAYER:
In the above premises, it is prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased:

a . Hereby , I do request the honorable supreme court of India to consider this as a PIL for : “writ of Mandamus” and to issue instructions to the concerned public servants , Tax Authorities , Law Enforcement Agencies , RBI authorities in the following cases to perform their duties & to answer the below RTI questions.

b . to pass such other orders and further orders as may be deemed necessary on the facts and in the circumstances of the case.

c. To legally prosecute responsible , concerned judges , police & public servants.

d. To cancel winter , summer vacation holidays for judges.

e. To bring down the holidays of courts per year to twelve on the lines of industrial establishments.

f. To make it mandatory for judges to conduct court hearings for 8 hours per day.

g. To bring down unnecessary court adjournments.

h. to reserve precious court timings only for arguments , cross examination of litigants , witnesses.

i. to use information technology , internet for issue of notices , summons and litigants submitting documents , applications instead of wasting court time.

j. to introduce working of courts on shift basis in the same infrastructure.

k. to appoint retired judges immediately to bring down gaps in judges requirement.

l. to order the biggest litigant government of india and all state governments to frame laws strictly in accordance with constitution.

m. to order governments to give proper training for public servants , IAS officers , KAS officers , others about law of the land.

o. to make specific public servants personally responsible for wrong applications of law while discharging their duties and to make them pay compensation from their personal pockets.

p. to order Chief Justice of India to pay compensation of Rupees TWO CRORES to Nagaraja Mysuru Raghupathi editor SOS e Clarion of Dalit & SOS e Voice for Justice , towards the damages he has suffered due to delayed justice.

FOR WHICH ACT OF KINDNESS, THE PETITIONER SHALL BE DUTY BOUND, EVER PRAY.

Dated : 21^st May 2016 ………………….FILED BY: NAGARAJA.M.R.

Place : Mysuru , India……………………. PETITIONER-IN-PERSON

Judiciary biased against poor: Justice Saldanha

Only culprits from certain sections of the society are given death sentence in India while the rich and influential are spared the gallows, observed former high court judge Justice M F Saldanha.

Addressing law students of JSS Law College at an orientation programme here on Monday, he rued that the justice system is biased against socio-economically backward classes. "There have been instances where many rich and popular personalities committed similar crimes but went scot-free," he noted. There are certain loopholes in the legal system. Academicians, legal parishioners and law students must work towards bridging these gaps and bringing about the desired change in the system, he added, calling upon budding lawyers to follow ethics in their professional and personal lives.

College principal K S Suresh said the country has nearly 4 crore cases pending before the court, due to delay in settling them. Though there are nearly 13,500 courts and two dozen high courts, at this rate, it will take about 100 years to clear the pending cases, he said while stressing on the need to deliver speedy justice. MLA Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri said society has immense faith in the judicial system and called upon the legal fraternity to live up to people's expectations

Traitors in Judiciary & Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/329980170/Traitors-in-Judiciary-Police ,

Crimes by Khaki

https://sites.google.com/site/sosevoiceforjustice/crimes-by-khaki

FIRST Answer Judges Police

https://www.scribd.com/document/336585411/FIRST-Answer-Judges-Police

“There is a higher court than the court of justice and that is the court of conscience It supercedes all other courts. ”

- Mahatma Gandhi

Pre-Trial Detention

By Amnety International

The Issue

India has one of the highest pre-trial detainee populations in the world. Nearly two-thirds of the country’s prisoners are ‘undertrials’. These include men and women presumed to be innocent in the eyes of the law but who are in jail for months and even years waiting for the law to take its course. Some have even been detained for periods longer than what a formal conviction would have brought.

In 2014, there were 4,18,536 prisoners in various jails in India, of which over 2.8 lakh – more than 67% - were undertrials, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Prison Statistics –India 2014. NCRB all India figures reveal that 47.8% of undertrials are between the age group of 18 to 30 years.

‘Taking Injustice Personally’ and Section 436A Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)

The overarching objective of Amnesty International India’s campaign ‘Taking Injustice Personally’ is to work towards reducing excessive pretrial detention for undertrials, by addressing barriers, both systemic and operational, which exacerbate the problem of prolonged detention in jails. In many cases, such detention can be unlawful and in violation of various international and domestic laws applicable to undertrials.

Cognizant of the fact that there are numerous ways in which the problem of excessive pretrial detention can be addressed, we decided to work towards ensuring ‘effective implementation of S. 436A Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)’ as one way to achieve the project objective.

AI India has been working on this issue since 2013, with relevant state agencies and the judiciary in seeking accurate application of this law. This section allows for the release of an undertrial, on personal bond, – it is hence particularly useful for undertrials who cannot afford to pay bail.

During the course of our research on this issue, AI India identified four key issues which hinder application of this law. Most of these issues also contribute substantially to the problem of excessive pretrial detention. These are:

1. Lack of proper prison and court record management

2. Lack of effective legal aid services

3. Delays in court productions due to lack of adequate police escorts and video-conferencing facilities

4. Non-functional Undertrial Review Committees (UTRC)

Coupled with these reasons are a lack of awareness and understanding about application of this law.

For a detailed insight into these reasons, please read our briefing - AI India findings and recommendations.

In August-September 2014, the government expressed an intent to push for implementation of S. 436A CrPC - to decongest prisons and uphold the rights of undertrials.

This was soon followed by a Supreme Court order in the Bhim Singh vs. Union of India case, where the Court directed district judges across all states to visit jails within their jurisdiction and identify and release undertrials eligible for release under S. 436A CrPC. Despite at least seven hearings over the last one year and nearly 10 months since the expiry of the deadline set by the Supreme Court in September 2014, the order has not been complied with. Also, there is no indication from the Central Government on the number of under trials released pursuant to this order.

All these initiatives can contribute to the effective implementation of this law. However, unless the systemic and operational failings highlighted above are not rectified, they are likely to have limited long-term and sustainable impact.

Consequences of excessive undertrial detention and aggravating factors

1. Overcrowding in jails.

Excessive undertrial detention not only adversely affects the lives of prisoners and their families, but also leads to overcrowding in prisons, which puts undue pressure on the entire criminal justice system machinery. Prisons in India have an average occupancy rate of 117.4%. Some of the most overcrowded jails in India include those situated in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (33.17%) Chhattisgarh (258.9%) and Delhi (221.6%).

This means, for example, in Chhattisgarh, every cell meant to house 100 inmates in actuality houses 259 inmates.

Needless to say, overcrowded jails lead to extremely poor conditions of detention, aggravating the lack of adequate sanitation, food and health care in jails. The conditions in jails are conducive for the transmission of diseases including skin infections, tuberculosis, malaria and other communicable diseases.

Overcrowding also adds to the burden on jail officials who have to manage the security and movement of a large number of undertrials within the jail premises. Congested jails often tend to be chaotic and unsupervised. Inmates are at a heightened risk of physical and psychological abuse and ill-treatment and even torture.

2. Inadequate legal representation.

Most undertrials in India have low levels of education and are therefore unlikely to be aware of their legal rights. According to NCRB 2013 figures, over 71% of the undertrial population is educated below class ten.

Undertrials, thus, are among the most vulnerable sections of the prison population – they are less able to contribute to the preparation of their defence than defendants who remain at liberty. The quality of communication between the undertrial and his/her lawyer remains largely poor with the former often dependent (due to restricted access to telephones, etc.) on the latter to communicate with them. The meeting rooms where undertrials meet their lawyers are mostly crowded and guarded by jail officials, making the environment unconducive for uninhibited and effective meetings.

Undertrials may also be unable to engage a private lawyer due to a lack of resources. They are then compelled to seek free legal aid from the state, which can be inadequate and ineffective.

3. Loss of familial ties, livelihood and adverse impact on family.

Pretrial detention, particularly when it is indefinite, subjects undertrials to severe emotional stress due to separation from their family, friends and community. Furthermore, uncertainty regarding the duration of detention coupled with anxieties related to unsuitable and sometimes dangerous prison conditions, can contribute to depression and suicidal tendencies.

Undertrials detained for long periods of time lose their jobs, which could cause further economic hardship to them and their families.

4. Loss to the state exchequer

Apart from violating numerous rights of an individual, excessive undertrial detention also leads to wasting of public resources.

According to the NCRB, the average annual expenditure per inmate is Rs. 24,768.

The amount spent by the state on overcrowded jails can, instead, be better utilized on activities which promote public security, such as increasing the number of jail and police personnel, investing in their training and infrastructural facilities etc.

Amnesty International India’s work with Government of Karnataka

Amnesty International India (AI India) seeks to work with the Government of Karnataka to reduce the number of undertrials who are in detention in jails across the state. This will help decrease overcrowding, ensure that undertrials eligible to be released under law are not held in jail, and make Karnataka’s criminal justice system a role model for the rest of the country.

Towards this objective, immediate and effective implementation of Sec. 436A CrPC has been stressed by both the Central and State Government vide the:

a. Central Directive No. V-13013/70/2012-IS (VI), dated 17th January 2013 (enclosed A1), issued by Union Ministry of Home Affairs (CS Division) and

b. Government Order No HD 51 PRA 2012, dated 12th November 2013 (enclosed A2), issued by the Karnataka Home Department

We have been working on this issue since March 2013, and have met several people including the Home Minister, the Law Minister, Principal Secretary (Home), ADGP (Prisons), former Supreme Court and High Court judges, members of the Legal Aid community, activists, lawyers, public prosecutors, and former and current police officials.

We have also conducted an interactive session at the Karnataka Judicial Academy with the Principal District Judges of all districts in Karnataka. The aim was to, firstly, understand the systemic factors and challenges that contribute to excessive and prolonged pretrial detention in Karnataka; and secondly to explore creative ways of reducing pretrial detention.

Justice Delayed is Justice Denied

By Pradip Kumar Das

Before I start I would like to highlight something about the origin of the quoted line "Justice delayed is justice denied." This line was written by William Ewart Gladstone (1809 - 1898). He was one of the greatest of English Politicians and also former British Prime Minister.

The 15th August 1947 is a red-letter day to the Indians. India got freedom on this day at midnight. The last ship carrying British soldiers left India for England. Struggle for independence was thus over on this day. But, to speak the truth, it was only the beginning of a struggle -- the struggle to live as an independent nation and to establish a democracy based on the ideas of justice, liberty, equality and fraternity. Keeping these ideals in mind the Preamble to the Indian constitution, interalia, declares that --

"We the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign, socialist, secular, Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens -- Justice, -- social, economic and political .... .But sixty years after Independence, we have endless laws but not enough justice. The founding fathers of our constitution placed "Justice" at the highest pedestal and our preamble to the constitution placed justice higher that the other features like liberty, equality and fraternity. People use to go to the judiciary in quest of justice.

In the words of Dr. Cyrus Das2 "Justice is a consumer product and must therefore meet the test of confidence, reliability and dependability like any other product if it is to survive market scrutiny. It exists for the citizenry, 'at whose service only the system of justice must work'. Judicial responsibility, accountability and independence are in every sense inseparable. They are, and must be, -- embodied in the institution of the judiciary." Credibility of the judiciary is at stake now due to mounting arrears of cases, delays in disposal and also high cost of obtaining justice. The denial of justice through delay is the biggest mockery of law. It does not amount to mere mockery, the delay in fact kills the entire fabric of justice delivery system of the country.

'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice -- everywhere'3:

There was a time when it was an age of barbarism. Civilization begins to progress through many ups and downs. Today we have reached, so to speak, the culmination of civilization. Justice and the judiciary is the inevitable result of that civilization. But the present day society is a victim to the dilatoriness of the process of justice. People unfortunately fall victim to injustice. They suffer day after day. A Major portions of the Indian people are very poor and illiterate as well. They come to the court to get justice by paying their hard-earned money. They pay to advocates, Law clerks day after day, and wait for justice. They pay for court fees and vokalatnama and wait for justice. Month after month, year after year passes away- they wait for justice.

They become gradually destitute by selling their everything to meet the fees of advocates, law clerks and other expenses and still wait for justice. Sometimes they pass away from the world and never get justice. Dilly-dally policy in the judiciary makes them deprived of having justice. Thus justice remains untouched by many victims in the Indian judicial system. The more they do not get relief, the more they lose their faith in judiciary. As a result, people gradually will take law in their own hand, which will lead a social anarchism. There will be deep darkness of frustration and futility, -- nihilism and cynicism all around. The whole society will be in jeopardy, as the entire judicial system will collapse under its own weight. In the words of K. G. Balakrishnan, Hon'ble Chief Justice of India, ".... the peoples faith in the judicial system will begin to wane, because justice that is delayed is forgotten, excluded and finally discharged ...4."

The Real Scenario:

There are about 10,000 courts in India .Out of these, one Supreme Court, 21 High Courts, 3150 District Courts, 4861 Munsif and 1st class Magistrate courts and 1964 2nd class Magistrate courts are there. Besides, there are many tribunals. There are 4.04 crores cases pending in different district courts across the country while there is a backlog of 34 lacks cases in State High Courts. 1,66,77,657 criminal cases are pending before Magisterial courts and 72,37,495 civil cases are pending in various subordinate courts. As many as 70 percent of these cases are -litigations from villagers. Again some of these cases are as long as 25 to 30 years old. The longer a case runs, the more expensive it becomes to pursue. Within the High Courts, maximum number of cases are pending in Calcutta, Allahabad, Chennai, Mumbai and in Kerala High court. Out of the pending cases in these High Courts, 88 percent are civil cases and only 12 percent are criminal cases. Maximum number of pending cases in lower judiciary are in U.P., Gujrat, Maharashtra, M.P., W.B. and in Karnataka.

Primary causes behind Law's Delays:

a) The hopelessly inadequate number of judges and also courts in the country is undoubtedly one of the major reasons for such delay. Successive Governments have not only failed to increase the numerical strength of judges and courts but have also been slack in filling up of vacancies. In Mumbai, for example, 50 metropolitan magistrate courts serve a population of more than 12 million of people. At present the country's 21 High Courts have a combined strength of 725 judges; but there are 128 vacancies left to fill up. The High courts are handling an overwhelming 34,00,000 cases and the shortage of judges is only delaying the legal process. It is not out of place here to mention that there is only 10 - 12 judges per 10 lacks of people in India while in U.S.A., it is 60 - 70 judges per 10 lacks of people, 40 - 50 judges in U.K., even in Pakistan the rate is much higher than that of India.

b) If the inadequate number of judges is one reason behind delay in judicial process another reason is the incompetence and inefficiency of judges. There are some law colleges in India where students do not have to attend classes, teachers need not deliver lectures and syllabus need not be followed. These colleges have become factory of distribution of law degree. A degree is the sole requirement to become a member of the Bar and a degree coupled with a few years standing at the Bar is the only requirement for joining the Bench (in some cases that is also not required). As a result the quality of judges is far from satisfactory to give us the desired level of -- competence, efficiency and effectiveness. Good judgment prevents multiplicity of proceedings. Good advice by lawyers followed by good assistance prevents unnecessary litigation and wastage of time.

(c) The habit of taking adjournment by the lawyers is another reason behind delay. Some lawyers take adjournment unnecessarily to harass opposite parties and to extract money from clients. Some of them causes delay by continuing meaningless argument day after day. In Government cases, adjournment are freely sought to file affidavit because the offices of the Advocate General, the Attorney General and Solicitors General to the Central and State Governments are inadequately staffed and equipped. However, the habit of taking adjournment by lawyers day after day, poses a serious threat to the entire judiciary, which only can be equated with the disease of cancer.

(d) Endless amendment of laws is another reason behind delay. Most of Indian laws were amended time and again. As a result, it takes time to understand and explain the new provisions of law. It kills valuable time of court. These endless amendments make the legal system slow and confusing. Our propensity for enacting laws is really a problem. The Income Tax Act, for example, has been amended over 4000 times since it came into force in 1961. According to Late Mr. Nani A. Palkhivala, the tragedy of India is the tragedy of wastage of national time, energy and manpower for grappling with torrential countless amendments.

(e) Absence of work culture in the courts is another reason behind the delayed -- justice. Every work of courts is carried out very slowly. Attraction to the holidays makes the work of judiciary dilatory and procrastinating. Number of -- holidays, especially in higher judiciary, are so vast that one can easily count the number of working days. This adds to the number of mountainous pending cases in the court.

Some facts:

There are several cases where -- judgements were delivered by courts after a long time. In Safdar Hasmi murder case, for example, who was killed by political opponents, the criminals were punished after a long 15 years. In Tanduri murder case, the accused a Delhi Congress Leader Susil Sarma was convicted with death sentence after long 8 years 6 months. He murdered Nayna Sahani and destroyed evidence by burning her body within a Delhi based hotel. In Model Jesicalal Murder case and Madhumita Sarma Murder case, accused persons were punished after a long legal battle. The Supreme Court of India is not even immune to delays. It's much acclaimed -- judgment in the D.K. Basu case in 1996, known for its directives aimed to prevent custodial torture, took ten years to be reached5. If a judgment takes this long time in the Supreme Court what can be expected from courts of lesser authority?

Various Committees:

For speedy trial and quick -- disposal of cases several committees were formed by the Government from time to time. In 1924 a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Justice Rankin. In 1949 Justice S.R. Das Committee, in 1972 Justice J.C. Shaha committee, in 1986 Satish Chandra Committee and in 1990 Justice V.S. Mallimath committee. But the situation has not so changed from 1926 to 2007. The law commission in its 120th report submitted in 1987 -- examined the problem of understaffing of judiciary and recommended 50 judges per million of population instead of the present number 10.5. The inadequate number of judges is a major reason behind delay in disposal of cases.

Thus, the main cause of judicial procrastination is not in the hand of judiciary but in the hand of executive and administrative wings. Justice R. P. Sethi in Anil Rai vs. State of Bihar, Criminal appeal of 6th August, 2001], [observed that in a country like ours where people consider judges second only to God, effort should be made to strengthen that belief of the common man. His Lordship was of the view that time has come for the judiciary to assert itself to preserve its stature, respect and regard for the rule of law. He observed "for the fault of few", the glorious and glittering name of the judiciary cannot be permitted to be made ugly6. Former Attorney General of India Mr. Soli Sorabjee in a lecture at the Nehru Center in London lamented the laws delays and said the criminal justice system in India was on the verge of collapse on this reason. He also observed that, "Justice delayed will not only be justice denied, it will be the Rule of law destroyed"7. More than 60 percent of pending court cases in India are the result of -- "State" action or inaction because some official of the central or State Government or agency has failed to act justly -- towards a citizen or a group of citizen. Lately, Hon'ble Supreme Court has delivered guidelines for quick disposal of cases.

The arrears committee headed by Justice V. S. Mallimath (1990) -- identified various causes of accumulation of arrears of cases in the High Courts. Some of the principal causes are :

(i) Litigation explosion;

(ii) Accumulation of first appeal;

(iii) Inadequacy of staff attached to the High Court;

(iv) Inordinate concentration of work in the hands of some members of the Bar'

(v) Lack of punctuality among judges;

(vi) Granting of unnecessary adjournments;

(vii) Indiscriminate closure of Courts;

(viii) Indiscriminate resort to writ jurisdiction;

(ix) Inadequacy of classification and granting of cases;

(x) Inordinate delay in the supply of certified copies of judgments and orders etc.

Some suggestions and conclusion:

All the above points, should be taken care of. Proper steps should be taken immediately to solve the above problems. Adjournments must not be given on flimsy and frivolous grounds and beyond certain numbers. To speed up the process of justice, computerization of the whole country's judicial system is the need of the hour. The judges must set examples for themselves and others by maintaining a decent degree of punctuality and dutifulness.

However, hoping against hope, Hon'ble Supreme Court has already taken some steps to avoid law's delay. E-filing has been introduced in the Supreme Court on 2nd October, 2006. It is now possible for any advocate - on -record or any other petitioner to file his matter through internet from anywhere in the world. Computerization has been introduced in some of the High Courts in India. In this era of globalization and rapid technological developments -- various avenues of laws are opening day by day. Justice and judiciary have an important role to play in this – globalize world. If we do not care it -- that we may at our own risk

However, at a cursory glance to the reasons behind laws delay and the steps that have already been taken in various quarters after a long time, the author is of the view that many things still remain to do before long. The real picture is not very satisfactory and encouraging. No effective changes are made particularly in the lower judiciary to prevent laws delays. That is why recently Mr. Fali S. Nariman, an eminent Indian jurist and former Rajya Sabha member, when delivered the first Nani A. Palkhiwala Memorial Lecture, expressed with grief about the laws delays that - "Injustice is easy to bear, what stings is justice".8

Before I conclude I would like to opine with the former Attorney General of India Mr. Soli Sorabjee that -- justice delayed will not only be justice denied, it will also destroy the Rule of law,- a basic feature of our Constitution. However, let us gird up the loins to protect and preserve it.

40 Journalists Killed in India

Rajdev Ranjan, Hindustan

May 13, 2016, in Siwan, Bihar, India

Karun Misra, Jansandesh Times

February 13, 2016, in Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Jagendra Singh, Freelance

June 8, 2015, in Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India

MVN Shankar, Andhra Prabha

November 26, 2014, in Andhra Pradesh, India

Tarun Kumar Acharya, Kanak TV, Sambad

May 27, 2014, in Odisha, India

Sai Reddy, Deshbandhu

December 6, 2013, in Bijapur District, India

Rajesh Verma, IBN 7

September 7, 2013, in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

Rakesh Sharma, Aaj

August 23, 2013, in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India

Narendra Dabholkar, Sadhana

August 20, 2013, in Pune, India

Dwijamani Singh, Prime News

December 23, 2012, in Imphal, India

Rajesh Mishra, Media Raj

March 1, 2012, in Rewa, India

Umesh Rajput, Nai Dunia

January 23, 2011, in Raipur district, India

Vijay Pratap Singh, Indian Express

July 20, 2010, in Allahabad, India

Anil Mazumdar, Aji

March 24, 2009, in Rajgarh, Assam, India

Vikas Ranjan, Hindustan

November 25, 2008, in Rosera, India

Javed Ahmed Mir, Channel 9

August 13, 2008, in Srinagar, India

Ashok Sodhi, Daily Excelsior

May 11, 2008, in Samba, India

Mohammed Muslimuddin, Asomiya Pratidin

April 1, 2008, in Barpukhuri, India

Prahlad Goala, Asomiya Khabar

January 6, 2006, in Golaghat, India

Asiya Jeelani, freelance

April 20, 2004, in Kashmir, India

Veeraboina Yadagiri, Andhra Prabha

February 21, 2004, in Medak, India

Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, News and Feature Alliance

January 31, 2003, in Srinagar, India

Ram Chander Chaterpatti, Poora Sach

November 21, 2002, in Sirsa, India

Moolchand Yadav, Freelance

July 30, 2001, in Jhansi, India