Then after enrolment, I started my practice in the civil side under the able guidance of my Late father R. P. Verma.I was practising in the District Courts and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. Since both the Courts were in the same premises, I had the advantage of conveniently attending both the Courts. I have seen working of the Courts 40 years back and then continued to watch...
Then after enrolment, I started my practice in the civil side under the able guidance of my Late father R. P. Verma.
I was practising in the District Courts and the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. Since both the Courts were in the same premises, I had the advantage of conveniently attending both the Courts. I have seen working of the Courts 40 years back and then continued to watch it till I finally left the office in August 2012. What a tremendous pressure of work on the Judges of all the Courts across the country today, be it the Lowest Court or the Apex Court.
When I had just joined the profession, at that time a total of 10-11 cases used to be listed before every Judge of the High Court, the Cause List would run into just two to three pages but today, more than 150 cases are listed before each Judge of the High Court. The Cause List is like a small booklet running into more than 50 pages. Just imagine the plight of the Judges. It is humanly not possible to come fully prepared with facts and the Law involved in all the Cases. Even if they work overtime, they may not be able to do so.
The situation in the Lower Courts is no better, Judges have no time to breathe. Lower Courts are flooded and overcrowded with litigants, their witnesses and advocates. Each Advocate has his own staff of Clerks, Stenos etc. It is difficult to pass through the passages to reach the Court where your matter may be fixed for hearing. With Court diaries full, if the matter is adjourned, it is taken up only after six months. That is how the years pass by and cases do not attain finality.
Then we have a multi-tier system in the dispensation of justice. Appeal after Appeals are provided in the Code of Civil Procedure as well as in the Code of Criminal Procedure. Aung San Suu Kyi, the acclaimed Nobel Laureate said, “The Judiciary must be strengthened and released from political interference.” This is what is to be achieved to set up a strong judiciary by 2020. Luckily in India, there is no political interference in the judiciary.
Suggestions given by the National Innovation Council must be implemented. For instance:
Information infrastructure for all the Courts
All Courts should be broughton to a high speed network, connecting all Courts in the country.
Interconnection of Courts, Prisons and Police Stations
All Courts, Prisons and Police Stations must be interconnected and suitable interfaces must be developed to facilitate easy exchange of information.
Integrated Cases and Document Management System
Integrated Cases and Document Management System will enable smooth flow of case information and access to all the documents.
Digitisation, e-Filing and e-Registry
Digitisation would be the first step towards paperless e-Courts. e-Filing would save lot of paper and online payment of fees, would save lot of problems for the Litigants. E-Orders, e-Copies and e-Cause list would go a long way in improving the judicial system.
Service of notice summons through e-Service and e-Administration would make the office paperless. To provide Citizen Centric Services to all. It would save a lot of time of all the Advocates, Litigants and the Public at large.
If these suggestions are implemented, then the future generation shall be benefited in getting a more systematic and faster judicial system.
Disclaimer–The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and are purely informative in nature.