Steps towards Judicial Reforms

PM's speech at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has called upon the judiciary and executive to work together to make the Indian judicial system an arrear free. He was speaking at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices in New Delhi today. Dr. Singh said that the elimination of vast number of pending cases in the Indian Courts is the biggest challenge before the judiciary. Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s speech on the occasion:

“I am very happy to be with you at this very important joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices. This is an extremely valuable institutional forum for fruitful interaction between two vital wheels of the chariot of good governance - the Executive and the Judiciary. The enormous and often non quantifiable benefits of such meaningful dialogue in such exchanges cannot be overemphasized. Institutional interactions like this create a deeper understanding of each others’ perspective, enhance trust and impart the necessary direction and momentum for processes of good governance.

The Indian legal and judicial system, in one sense, reflects a certain contradiction. India, the world’s largest democracy and home to the second largest pool of lawyers, has legislatures elected by the world’s largest electorate. It has the world’s longest and most comprehensive Constitution, a fiercely free press and institutional bulwarks of freedom like the Election Commission of India and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India. Its judiciary is dynamic and completely independent and we take pride in this. Despite its unelected character, the people’s faith has been reposed in the judicial organ in a very large measure. The legal system is manned by legal luminaries second to none in the world. Amazingly innovative legal doctrines and precepts have been the gift of the Indian legal system to the world. The “basic structure doctrine” and “public interest litigation” are but two examples. Judicial review has breached unprecedented frontiers. Yet, amidst such strengths, brilliance and dynamism, India has to suffer the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines which generate surprise globally and concern at home. The expeditious elimination of this scourge is the biggest challenge for such conferences and should constitute the highest priority for all of us.

The mammoth number of pending cases cannot be allowed to disillusion or dishearten us. It has to spur us to even higher peaks of achievement and bring out the best from every stakeholder, acting in coordination to progressively overcome this great challenge. In this war, a holistic and multipronged approach is vital. There is no space for piecemeal, patchy or sectoral responses. However, grand mega plans must be tempered and accompanied by common sense, nitty gritty solutions. Adapting Thomas Hardy’s admonition - if we take care of the small things, the big things will take care of themselves - we have to combine and harmonise both the big and the small. In this war on arrears, the entire legal system and each rung of it has to function as a seamless web and an indivisible whole. Naturally, the apex court has to discharge a vital role. It has to be a catalyst, an organiser, a mentor, an umpire, a participant , and, above all, a role model, all at the same time. I can assure this august gathering with all the emphasis at my command that my Government will not be found wanting at any level in this joint effort. We promise to match each step of the judiciary with two of our own. We will not hesitate to walk the extra mile at every opportunity.

The procedural, substantive, or attitudinal reforms which must be continuously and collectively applied to achieve results are diverse in nature. Meritorious individuals should be appointed timely to judicial posts, which have been enhanced at the High Court level by 150 in the last few years. The existing vacancies in High Courts are quite high in number and need to be filled up urgently. I would urge the Chief Justices of High Courts to initiate proposals for quickly filling up these posts. Vacancies at the subordinate level roughly comprise, I have been told, 20% to 25% of subordinate judicial posts. I am told that almost 3000 posts of judges in the country are vacant because of delay in recruitment. All these vacant posts at the subordinate levels need to be filled up without any further loss of time. The State Judicial Academies need to be strengthened for building capacities of judicial officers. Comprehensive computerisation and ultimate linking of all courts in the country into one mega judicial information grid needs to be tailored and adapted to enable screening of all pending cases. Such screening would facilitate disposal of many old cases as moot or infructuous. Despite the recent increases in judicial strength, there is scope for significant future increase in court strength to improve India’s low judge per million population ratio. This is subject, of course, to expeditious filling of existing vacancies. The mechanisms and processes for providing legal aid to the marginalised sections of the society need to be improved.

Consensual Dispute Resolution – whether by way of arbitration or diverse forms of mediation – is an effective bypass to litigation, with significant preventive and curative virtues. The Civil Procedure Code now offers an empowering menu of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) choices. I am happy to note that court annexed mediation centres are now being created at different levels. But they remain still a drop in the ocean. The plea bargaining provided for by the law since 2005 has not been fully utilised till now. There is a need to give it wider publicity to reduce the pendency of cases and the number of under-trials in the country.

The Honorable President of India in her address to the Joint Session of Parliament in June 2009 has directed that a roadmap for judicial reforms be outlined in the next six months and implemented in a time-bound manner. I am happy that the Ministry of Law and Justice is working on such a road map. Shri Moily has also informed me that consultations on the reform initiatives have started with the various stakeholders. A National Consultation with jurists and stakeholders will be held in New Delhi very shortly. This will throw up the broad contours and set the stage for reform. But a lot of work will still have to be done for crafting a detailed blueprint and ensuring its implementation thereafter.

At the last Conference, I had mentioned that we had introduced the Gram Nyayalays Bill in Parliament. Though the legislation has since been enacted in January this year, it is yet to be enforced. I would urge that the state governments initiate immediate action to operationalize the Gram Nyayalayas Act in their States. Once the Act is fully implemented, we will have more than 5000 courts at the intermediate panchayat level. These will bring justice to the doorstep of the common people, who currently feel that getting justice in India is not only time-consuming and costly but sometimes also an intractable proposition. The Central Government has committed assistance to States for setting up the Gram Nyayalays. While there could be differing views on the adequacy of the assistance being provided, this should not hold us from speedily bringing the Act into force.

I am very happy to inform you that the Government of India, on the advice of the Chief Justice of India, has agreed to establish 71 additional CBI Courts in different states. Fast Track Courts should conduct their business differently and faster than normal courts; only then we shall be able to tackle the pendency in cases.

A matter of concern, indeed, worry, is the large number of under-trials in our jails. Many such under-trials have been in jail for periods longer than they would have served had they been sentenced. This is indeed very disturbing. There have been pronouncements of the High Courts and the Supreme Court on this issue but still the number of under-trials in jails continues to be very large. I sincerely hope this Conference will devote some time to this issue.

Let me conclude by suggesting to this august gathering that we take a vow to ensure that the enormous global respect for the Indian judiciary for its path-breaking doctrines and consistent independence be soon matched by similar accolades for an arrear free judicial institution. Like Gandhiji’s common man, the focus of the judicial system should to be to wipe every tear of every waiting litigant. I hope your deliberations will be centred on the single most important stakeholder in this system- the consumer of justice. Unless we meet his or her legitimate demands and expectations in letter and spirit, we cannot rest in peace.

I congratulate the Chief Justice of India and my colleague, Shri Moily ji for having taken the initiative to organize this very important conference. Great importance is attached to your deliberations. Let me end by wishing you a very successful conference and all the very best in your endeavours.” Full text can be accessed at- Press Information Bureau.

PM calls upon judiciary and executive to make Indian Judicial System an arrear free

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh has called upon the judiciary and executive to work together to make the Indian judicial system an arrear free. He was speaking at the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices in New Delhi today. Dr. Singh said that the elimination of vast number of pending cases in the Indian Courts is the biggest challenge before the judiciary.

He called upon the apex court to be a catalyst and a role model in playing a vital role in overcoming the challenge of the huge pendency. Dr. Singh said that comprehensive computerisation and ultimate linking of all courts in the country into one mega judicial information grid needed to be tailored and adapted to enable screening of all pending cases and such screening should facilitate disposal of many old cases. Calling for improvements in the mechanism and processes for providing legal aid to the marginalised sections of the society, the Prime Minister referred to the disturbing fact of large number of undertrials being lodged in the jails and urged the Conference to consider this matter.

Referring to the vacancies in the High Courts and Subordinate judiciary, the Prime Minister called upon the Chief Justices to initiate proposals for filling up the vacant posts in High Courts and mentioned that the 3000 odd posts of judges in the country that are vacant because of delay in recruitment process need to be filled without further loss of time. Referring to the direction of the President in her address to the Joint session of Parliament in June, 2009 the Prime Minister informed that Ministry of Law and Justice was working on such a roadmap and would bring out the broad contours setting the stage for reforms. He however reminded that considerable work is involved before a detailed blueprint could be crafted and its implementation ensured.

The Prime Minister drew the attention of the Chief Ministers and Chief Justices to the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 and urged them to take immediate action to operationalise the Act in their States. He mentioned that the Act needed to be speedily brought into force even though there could differing views on the adequacy of assistance that has been committed by the Central Government for being given to the States.

Earlier, in his inaugural address the Minister for Law and Justice, Shri Veerappa Moily drew the attention to the need to operationalise the Gram Nyayalayas Act within first 6 months. He also referred to the huge pendency in the courts and the need to take firm independent and impartial decisions that would control the inflow of litigations into the courts. The Minister referred to proposals for setting up of fast track commercial divisions in the High Courts following the rapid increase in commerce and trade in the country, following liberalisation and globalisation. He also said that efforts are being made by the Government towards applying Information and Communication Technology in the judiciary. He mentioned that Government has already sanctioned Rs. 442 crore for this purpose and that 3000 sites in all court complexes are being developed for providing them with computer hardware and application software. He sought the cooperation of the States and High Courts for quick and successful implementation of the project which will ultimately be owned by judiciary for better delivery of service and transparency to stakeholders.

In his address, the Chief Justice of India, Shri K.G. Balakrishnan, referred to the Gram Nyayalayas Act and the need to consider the practical aspects of making the act a success. The Chief Justice also draws attention to the huge pendency in the courts and the need to urgently expand judicial system by ensuring expeditious filling up of vacancies including that in the subordinate courts. The Chief Justice, appreciated the Government’s response to the judiciary’s demand for more CBI Courts and family courts.

In the working sessions, the Chief Ministers expressed their agreements with the suggestions of the Prime Minister and gave their commitments to work in complete harmony with their respective High Courts. The Chief Ministers also gave suggestions that they think would help facilitate the implementation of the Gram Nyayalaya Act better. Almost all the High Courts were appreciative of the State Government’s support in resolving matters of mutual concern. Full text can be accessed at- Press Information Bureau.

Mr Moily's Speech at the Conference of CM and Chief Justices of the High Courts

The Union Law and Justice Minister, Shri Veerappa Moily has said that the Indian Judiciary is held in very high esteem not only in this country and the other developing countries but also in the developed countries of the world. He said this while addressing the Joint Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts in New Delhi today.

Shri Moily said that in her address to the Parliament the Hon’ble President had highlighted the urgency to usher in judicial reforms. He said that Preliminary discussions have been held with key figures in justice implementation and we have called for a National Consultation on the issue of Judicial Reforms which will be held shortly. He added that that administrative reforms are a concomitant part of judicial reforms, and that transparency, good governance, fairness in decision making and impartiality of administration are all fundamental to the rule of law. Following is the text of the Union Law and Justice Minister on the occasion : -

“Another important aspect is that of making justice more easily accessible to the people particularly in the rural areas. The Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008 which enables setting up of Nyayalayas in the Intermediate Panchayat levels is a revolutionary way of bringing justice closer to people. The concept of Gram Nyayalayas is quite unique in contrast to the Gram Panchayat contemplated in the Panchayat Act. This will have a 1st Class Magistrate and deals with offences and relief under IPC, Central Acts, and relief under the State Acts (to be notified by the State Governments) as contemplated in the 1st Schedule of Part I, II and III of the Act and also civil disputes, property disputes and other disputes. These Courts contemplate summary proceedings and a time bound disposal within six months of the institution of the case. Once in operation, justice will be brought to the doorsteps of the common man.

I, therefore, urge that we put our act together to operationalise the Gram Nayalayas in the quickest time and that we start our first phase within six months.

I would like to inform that information and communication technology has been introduced in the Supreme Court, in 21 High Courts as well as around 15,000 District and Subordinate Courts in the Country. The Central Government has already sanctioned Rs. 442 crores in the first phase of its judicial reforms consequent to which computerization to the extent of laptops, laser printers, internet connectivity in the Court complexes and home offices of 13,250 judicial offices in the country has already been achieved. Training of Judges and Court staff in the use of information and communication technology is afoot. We are also thinking of developing 3000 sites in all the court complexes where hardware would be procured and application software would be developed and standardized.

I would request your cooperation in successfully implementing the project of computerization of the courts which is ultimately to be owned by the judiciary for better delivery of services and transparency to the stakeholders. My Ministry also implements a scheme for development of infrastructure for the judiciary where assistance is provided for construction of court buildings and residential accommodation for the judicial officers.

The Fast Track Courts were established on the recommendation of the Eleventh Finance Commission have made a significant impact in disposal of long pending sessions cases and cases of under-trial prisoners. The scheme which was initially up to 31.3.2005 has been continued upto 31.3.2010 and central assistance continues to be provided for this extended period. The matter of continuation of the Fast Track Courts beyond 31.3.2010 needs to be considered and may be deliberated here. In order to improve the credibility of the system there is a need to make the optimum use of the available infrastructure and resources including human resources. Capacity building of our judicial officers will help the judiciary in their performance and will also bring in a sense of higher commitment.

As per Memorandum of Procedure for the appointment of judges, Chief Justices of High Courts are expected to initiate proposals 6 months in advance for filling up vacancies. This must be done so that the vacancies are filled up in time. Care should be taken to recommend candidates which have proven competence and un-impeachable integrity. The huge pendency in the courts is a matter of great concern to all of us. More than 2.5 crore cases are reportedly pending in the lower courts of the country and if we add numbers pending in the High Courts and the Supreme Court, the number may as well exceed 3.5 crore. Apart from the pendency and delays, what has been worrying most of us, is the number of under-trials in jails. Some of these under-trials have been in jails for a much longer period than they would have served if the sentence had been pronounced. At this Conference, we should devote some time to these issues also and come up with some workable solutions which can be implemented in a time bound manner.

We intend to evolve a national litigation policy by which the Government is able to fight cases with discretion and care. The Government is in agreement with Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India that an attitude of taking firm, independent and impartial decisions if adopted by the Government would itself lead to a substantial reduction of arrears and would definitely control the inflow of litigation into the Courts of Justice. The major litigants/departments are advised to work out an integral mechanism to reduce litigation and resolve within the Government. This needs to be done at the State level also. There are also litigations between PSUs of the State Governments and PSUs of Union of India and also between State and Union of India and also vice versa too. This can also be dealt by a mechanism as it is done in case of PSUs of Union of India.

I welcome the concept of ‘… National Minimum Court Performance Standards…’ which are being visualized by the Judiciary. We in the Government must also have Judicial Infrastructure Supplement Standards so that the performance standards as visualized by the judiciary are effectively achieved. It may be noted that in a fairly ambitious programme the judiciary today visualizes that its disposal level must be hiked upto 95-100% of total case load in 5 years. Keeping this fact in view, our senior Law Officers, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, are looking at a blueprint by which this target is achieved within 3 years. I may add that in order to achieve such progressively high targets, it would be necessary for the Central Government and the State Governments to address issues of allocation of expenditure, swift budgetary estimates, single window clearances and rationalization of methods of accounts and audit.

We are also of the opinion that alternative dispute resolution methods must be adopted as a means of exploring conciliation, mediation as well as arbitration in a fair and transparent as well as effective manner. I am also happy to note that pursuant to the legislative intent behind Section 89-A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, every High Court has a Conciliation and Mediation Centre. However, we are conscious that mediation and conciliation are not ordinary techniques of dispute resolution but require new skills and forms of knowledge in order to achieve synergy between the conflicting parties.

At present, we are also reviewing the various Law Commission Reports and tabulating their final recommendations. These recommendations will be implemented by the Government by resorting to introduction of necessary amendment acts before the Parliament.

With the rapid increase in commerce and trade, following privatization, liberalization and globalization, commercial disputes involving high stakes are likely to increase. Unless there is a new and effective mechanism for resolving them speedily and efficiently, progress will be retarded. Foreign investors in India must be assured that the Indian Courts are as fast as the courts in the most developed countries of the world and that there are no longer any long delays in the judicial process.

The Law Commission of India in its 188th Report on “Proposals for Constitution of Hi-Tech Fast-Track Commercial Division in High Courts” has recommended for constitution of Commercial Divisions in each High Courts so that they may handle ‘commercial cases’ of high threshold value on fast track basis. We should see how to bring this in force early. Law Commission 79th report drew attention to the unhealthy practice of the long delay in pronouncements of judgments and emphasised the need for reducing the lag between conclusion of arguments and pronouncement of judgments should not exceed one month except in some special matters. This recommendation must be taken seriously by all the members of the judicial fraternity.

Section 35 of the Civil Procedure Code deals with the award of costs and section 35A deals with the award of compensatory costs in respect of false or vexatious claims or defences. The Courts should make use of these sections more vigorously to prevent the abuse of legal process by vested interests. We are also conscious that in today’s world where the entire globe is a village, mobility of weapons and money are also problems which have to be faced by our laws and we must, therefore, enact provisions for these crimes which have developed on account of changes in the social fabric as well as the monetary systems in the world.

Judicial Impact Assessment requires both the State Government and the Central Government to make proper assessment of the requirement of impact of new laws of litigants/courts and to fully build the capacity in the Court while new legislations are made. A mechanism needs to be put in place both at the National and State level to make an appraisal while passing any new legislation. Justice Rao Committee had gone into this area and has made valuable recommendations which the Government is committed to implement without delay. This will address the problem of resource allocation to the judiciary.

During the Eleventh Five Year Plan an allocation of Rs. 1470 crores has been provided to the administration of the justice as against Rs. 700 crores during the Tenth Five Year Plan. Even this allocation would have to be stepped up substantially with our commitment to introduce more courts specially the Gram Nyayalayas for which the Central Government is committed to spend Rs. 1400 crores. The delivery of qualitative justice to our citizens is a promise for which all of us – as the executive, the legislature and the judiciary – are equally responsible. We must also realize that effective justice delivery mechanisms are substantial alleviants for social tensions and, in fact, go a long way in bringing about equanimity, restoring faith in the rule of law, and above all, in the very essentials of a democratic way of life.

We should be committed that the quality of justice must never be compromised and the essential elements of fairness, equality and impartiality must always be ensured. We are also aware that all citizens expect justice like a consumer product. Both the executive and the judiciary have to maintain and satisfy the tests of confidence, reliability and dependability.

We are glad to note that Hon’ble the Chief Justice of India has acknowledged repeatedly that judicial responsibility; accountability and independence are in every sense inseparable with the notions of fairness and rule of law. The appropriate steps are under way to respond to these needs of the hour and we will soon present a Vision Statement to the Hon’ble Prime Minister for the purpose of outlining the way forward for the Judiciary.” Full text can be accessed at- Press Information Bureau.