India is at a crossroads where justice and compassion must come together to meet the rising challenges. Though laws and institutions are the backbone of the system, compassion brings life to these structures. The cases of child sexual abuse have increased from 71,000 in 2017 to 236,000 by 2023, and people of marginalized communities seem to be languishing in jails as undertrials. Judicial reform becomes urgent in India’s Judiciary. Compass training for judicial officers, testing them through a “compassion quotient,” would ensure that the guardrail of human rights is not violated without flexibility on legal principles. That will be an important step toward a fairer justice system.
| GS Paper | GS Paper II |
| Topics for UPSC Prelims | Indian judiciary, Supreme Court, e-Courts project, National Judicial Appointments Commission, National Crime Records Bureau, Anoop Baranwal case, Election Commissioners, Centrally Sponsored Scheme, Lok Adalats, FASTER, National Company Law Tribunals |
| Topics for UPSC Mains | Current Major Issues Related to Indian Judiciary, Key Recent Initiatives Related to Judicial Reforms in India. |
This editorial is based on “Case for compassion guiding the judiciary” published in Hindustan Times on 09/10/2024. It discusses the need for judicial reform by integrating compassion into the system, especially for cases involving child sexual abuse and marginalized undertrials.
This is an important topic for UPSC aspirants as it expands on crucial aspects of the Indian judiciary relevant to the syllabus. This builds the knowledge portfolio related to current judicial challenges and their reforms, thus helping prepare for questions on governance, justice delivery, and human rights.
The Indian judicial system needs to combine momentary empathy with that undertrial plight and the increasing cases of child sexual abuse. This again falls within GS Paper 2 topics, which include reforms in the judiciary and human rights. Therefore, this discussion around judicial accountability and legal aid appears in previous exams, and hence relevant to the discussion regarding the understanding of contemporary judicial challenges and reforms.
The greatest hardships facing the Indian judiciary include case arrears, delays in delivering justice, inadequate infrastructure, and limited judicial appointments. Most of these factors account for efficiency, accessibility, and fairness in the administration of the rule of law, which indirectly weakens public confidence in the judicial system and legal reforms.
The consequence is that the Indian judiciary bears the highest surplus of pending cases, and this overburdens the very efficiency of the delivery of justice. Matters have worsened at present to such an extent that the Supreme Court alone faces more than 83,000 outstanding cases. It goes to show that at the rate it is presently moving, it takes between 3 to 5 years for a case to go from the date of filing to its disposal. Such a lag affects not only the litigants but steadily erodes the much-needed public confidence in the judicial process, for which there is an immense need for systemic reforms to expedite the resolution of cases.
Vacancies- There is gross shortage of judges, particularly at the subordinate level. The problem of the judiciary though as a whole takes many different forms, and considerable contribution towards arrears in courts goes from the shortage of judges and form one of the serious problems faced by the judiciary. Although the sanctioned strength of the Supreme Court and High Courts is not even being fully utilized with more than 5,000 vacancies at different levels of the judiciary, the shortage increases the workload on working judges reduces the pace in the judicial process, and pangs of delayed justice to many litigants.
Without the right infrastructure and tools in place for technology, many Indian courts are still laggards in delivery. Even as the e-Courts project is turning courts into computerized ones, it’s the digital divide that hampers more so on rural platforms. More gaps have to be bridged so that there is improvement in access to justice, and cases are decided not just in time but within an acceptable turnaround time in judicial systems.
The lack of a powerful apparatus for judicial accountability raises the question whether people trust the judiciary. It is drawn on very seldom-it is woefully inadequate for misconduct cases. The NJAC controversies themselves reflect further worries about judicial independence and accountability.
These concerns are further compounded by the high litigation costs combined with the intrusiveness of the procedures, which makes it difficult for some of India’s most marginalized communities to access justice. The mammoth underrepresentation of undertrial prisoners from these groups has a parallel in the systemic inequities: although legal aid services do exist, most continue to be unaware or simply are unable to avail themselves of such services. This would thus mean that targeted interventions must ensure justice as it both fair and due.
Very contentious is the balancing of judicial independence with the oversight of the executive. One of the key instances in this regard is the Justice S. Muralidhar transfer episode, bringing to focus the question of separation of powers between the judiciary and the executive. This happens to be the essence for maintaining the credibility of the judiciary and the people’s confidence in its impartiality.
Challenges in terms of diversity exist in the Indian judiciary. There is underrepresentation of gender, caste, and regional groups. Women judge only a minority percentage of higher courts, while their counterparts are systematically underrepresented in other marginalized communities. It therefore limits the ability of the judiciary to understand or do justice to cases involving diverse populations, as much as it changes perceptions.
The issues of judicial activism and overreach are an everyday debate. However, activism has also produced landmark judgments. It only sometimes encroaches on the dominion of the legislature. The case of Anoop Baranwal verses the Election Commissioner marked tensions between judicial interventionism and democratic processes, setting a call for the crucial establishment of boundary questions.
Another challenge in enforcing court orders involves the amount of actual enforcement made, especially on the government. Many orders to clean up the Yamuna River have been given, and yet they are still at low levels because of infrastructural and political reasons. This failure assumes the form of challenges against the authority of courts and delivery of justice, thus the need for better processes to ensure the effective implementation of judicial decisions.
To this end, the court records digitization and e-filing have been only partly successful up to July 2023 with 18,36,627 cases e-filed but still face challenges where less than half of the district courts have functional e-filing facilities. Digitization and record preservation are, therefore, very important to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of courts in the country.
The recent judicial reforms in India were directed toward reducing case backlogs, increasing the transparency of the process of delivering justice services, digitizing traditional manual court processes, enhancing judicial infrastructure, and smoothening the delivery of justice. Accessibility must improve to ensure both fast judicial resolution for citizens and quick citizens’ access to the legal system.
Started in 2011, this is one system that enables easier access to justice through a curtailing of delays and accountability through structural reforms. A performance standard is being sought to be applied to the judicial processes so that justice is delivered on time; this would be the third dimension of systemic reforms of India’s legal machinery.
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme provides essential infrastructure development for both court halls and residential quarters, in which an investment of ₹9,755.51 crore will be made with the objective of building the physical infrastructure of the courts for better facilities and thus efficiency.
The result of this e-Courts project is reflected in the results that come from the computerized courts and video conferencing facilities. Virtual courts are working in various states; the judicial process becomes easier and quicker. For this reason, measures have been undertaken to modernize the process of the judiciary, minimize causes of delay, and open up the gates of justice to the public.
Present reform measures aim at reducing case pendency by the Fast Track Courts and amendments to the POCSO Act. This will thus help accelerate judicial cases in sensitive cases not only providing swift justice to the vulnerable sections but also realizing overall efficiency in the legal system.
ADR mechanisms such as mediation and Lok Adalats should be encouraged to transfer the burden of the formal courts. The new amendments recently made have introduced pre-institution mediation as a new requirement, thus encouraging more rapid and less adversary dispute resolution. Strengthening ADR will help India offer much better alternative justice more efficiently to its citizens.
Tele-law and pro bono services function to provide access to a free legal consultancy and legal advisory service to disadvantaged groups at Common Service Centres and platforms such as NyayaBandhu, thereby preventing a justice gap amongst people who cannot afford traditional legal services and thus enhancing legal inclusivity.
This will come about when the case backlog is reduced, completes the judiciary procedures with transparency, digitization in court procedures, judicial infrastructure development, and streamlined justice delivery. This gives a citizen a conclusion that is prompt, effective, and properly legal.
It would significantly reduce case pendency in India with the help of technology. Projects like eCourts and AI-assisted management systems are promising solutions for this purpose. Expanding such technologies across all court levels would improve efficiency following successful models like the one followed by Singapore’s Integrated Case Management System.
Strengthening ADR is much needed to curb the burden on courts. The Statutory Mediation Act 2023 should come into action more promptly. Setting up more mediation centers and offering incentives should tempt the parties to avail themselves of this friendly and speedier mode of dispute resolution that would reflect better in the judicial system as a whole.
Beyond simplifying appointment and increasing transparency, however, judicial vacancies can be mitigated through reforms to the collegium system, including increasing the diversity of selection committees and raising retirement ages for judges, so that older, more experienced jurists may stay longer. This policy reduces systemic delays and enhances the effectiveness of justices at every level.
Separate courts for any specific subject area will enhance faster disposal of cases. The success of National Company Law Tribunals in India is a mark of such systems. Such models can be expanded to other fields as well, such as environmental law and cybercrime, with judgments being swift and informed with the ultimate finesse of judicial process efficiency.
It is the improvement of legal aid services that would improve access to justice. Funding for the National Legal Services Authority would increase access to legal aid through mobile clinics and Tele-Law. The whole intent of such initiatives is to bridge this justice gap for marginalized communities to get equal legal redress.
The judiciary can become more accountable and efficient if there is a transparent judicial performance review system. Such an objective review system, based on international models for comparison, will be worked out under Indian jurisdiction respecting judicial independence in the post-independence era but holding the judiciary accountable for its actions. It will make it all the more effective and increase public confidence further.
Upgrading court infrastructure is important for the effective delivery of justice. Further acceleration in the implementation of infrastructural development schemes with an emphasis on modern facilities and optimum resource management will bring about considerable productivity improvements. In efforts to create an environment conducive to judicial processes, both litigants and judicial officers are benefited.
Such training may also lead to improving the delivery of justice by providing judicial officers with comprehensive compassion. In offering such training, judicial education would benefit if emotional intelligence and social contexts programs to introduce empathy among legal actors were set in place. This would serve to improve judicial decision-making and people’s perceptions of fairness in the justice system.
Outreach can raise public awareness and reduce litigation, with better compliance. Live-styling court processes and education in schools can lead to increased interaction and trust placed in the judiciary, developing a transparently accessible legal system for all citizens.
| Political: Political interference continues to pose a challenge to the autonomy and impartiality of the Indian judiciary, raising concerns about bias in legal decisions. However, government initiatives like the National Mission for Justice Delivery show a commitment to addressing issues of delays and improving judicial accountability, indicating a positive direction for reform. Economic: The judicial system’s efficiency is hampered by limited funding and inadequate resources, particularly affecting court infrastructure in rural areas. High legal costs and insufficient legal aid further contribute to the inaccessibility of justice for marginalized communities, highlighting the need for more affordable legal services and better resource allocation. Social: Social dimensions play a significant role in shaping the judiciary’s approach to justice. Training judicial officers in compassion is essential for effectively dealing with sensitive cases like child sexual abuse and the conditions of undertrial prisoners. Additionally, the judiciary’s lack of diversity in gender, caste, and regional representation restricts its ability to address complex societal issues, impacting public trust in the system. Technological: Technology is increasingly being integrated into the judicial system through initiatives like the e-Courts project, which aims to digitize court processes and improve efficiency. Despite these efforts, technological advancements face uneven implementation, especially in rural areas, where lack of infrastructure limits access to digital resources and hampers progress in streamlining case management. Environmental: While environmental factors have limited direct impact on the functioning of the judiciary, they play a critical role in cases involving land use, pollution, and natural resource management. Legal: The legal landscape is characterized by significant challenges, including the high pendency of cases, judicial vacancies, and inadequate accountability mechanisms. Legislative reforms, such as the establishment of specialized courts and the promotion of alternative dispute resolution methods, are essential. |
It is a critical moment in the Indian judiciary: compassion now is to dovetail uninterruptedly with legal principles to deliver justice anew. Public legal awareness combined with compassion training will establish an empathetic, efficient, and equitable judiciary. Such reforms are imperative to ensure that justice is not merely delivered but, more importantly, perceived by all citizens as fair and accessible nurturing public trust and societal harmony.
| UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) Mains Q. Discuss the role of e-governance in addressing the issue of judicial pendency in India. (UPSC Mains 2022, GS Paper II) Q. Examine the impact of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Anoop Baranwal case on the transparency and accountability of the Election Commission of India. How does this judgment influence the process of appointing Election Commissioners? |
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