India’s pathetic legal system
In modern society, speedy and efficient legal processes have a very important role to play. Without a sound legal system, it would be difficult to safeguard property rights, for businesses to function, for the innocent to defend themselves against false allegations and for the guilty to be taken to task.
Unfortunately, our outmoded legal system is a major stumbling block in the reform process. The guilty have a field day and can prolong cases for as long as they want. For the innocent, getting speedy justice is next to impossible. They have to tear their hair in frustration as they become victims of our highly inefficient and callous legal processes.
In our movies, we often see our heroes, who play the role of lawyers, staging high drama in the courts. The audience seated comfortably in the court room watches spellbound as examination and cross examination of witnesses take place. Wise, upright and knowledgeable judges thoughtfully nod their head when arguments are being made. Then we see justice being dispensed and the guilty being brought to the book.
Unfortunately, the reality in our country is quite different. In the past few months, I had to visit a court frequently in connection with a criminal case in which a close friend was falsely implicated. I had a first hand experience of how our legal system works. Most of the hearings are a farce. As a matter of fact, in most of the hearings, the only agenda is to fix the date of the next hearing. If at all they serve any purpose, it is to identify the hidden athletic talent in the country! As soon as one’s name is called out in the most disrespectful way imaginable, by the court clerk, one has to dash through the milling crowds which block the entrance and make a fifty metre dash to stand in front of the judge. Any delay would result in a severe reprimand! And having folded his or her hands in front of the magistrate, one is told when to come next. What an insult and disrespect to the time of our citizens, who have to travel long distances from the place of their residence to the court, in connection with their case. My friend must have spent at least 150 hours waiting at the court. The actual court room proceedings must not have taken more than one and a half hours in total!
When trials actually take place, one can make out very little of what is going on. Lawyers speak in hushed tones. The magistrate’s voice cannot be heard even at a distance of five feet. I doubt if 9 out of 10 magistrates in our country go carefully through the various records and petitions. They arrive in the court in great pomp and show, accompanied by orderlies. Their arrogance is unmistakable. But their knowledge of legal procedures and ability to conduct court proceedings are pathetic.
There are equally serious concerns about our lawyers. In countries like the US, law is a much sought after profession. Some of the best minds in USA go on to make careers in law. Indeed, many of the American CEOs are lawyers by training. But in our country, the situation is different. The most talented people in our country, barring a few exceptions, (like P Chidambaram, our Honorable Finance Minister) give the legal profession the go by. Most lawyers in our country have only a superficial understanding of our laws. They do not have a basic grasp over spoken or written English. Their attitude is also strange. They like to prolong cases as long as possible. Unlike in the US, where lawyers work on an incentive based system, here, they collect fees per document generated or per court hearing. The more the number of hearings, the more the fees they can collect. So they have no interest whatsoever in completing a case. If millions of cases are piling up in our courts today, it is as much due to our lawyers as due to our courts. Indeed, the lawyers in Tamil Nadu went on strike during the summer of 2002 to protest against government moves to dispose of cases speedily!
The time has come for the government to wake up. The ordinary citizens of the country should not be held to ransom. There must be incentives for judges to finish cases. Cases must be taken up a few at a time and dispensed with quickly. This is far better than taking up cases simultaneously in huge numbers and leaving them in a state of limbo for years together. Our court room proceedings must be far more transparent. The people concerned should know what goes on at each hearing. Our legal luminaries who practise at the Supreme Court must visit the lower courts and see with their own eyes, the pathetic state of affairs.
The legal system in the country was set up by our founding fathers to benefit the country’s citizens, not the lawyers and the judges. Making lawyers and judges more accountable is the need of the hour. Let us hope, with Chidambaram, a lawyer, in charge of liberalization and economic reforms, our legal system will be thoroughly overhauled.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Justice delayed is justice denied. There was a movie “Damini”, a decade ago, which clearly brings out this obsession for procrastination in the Indian judiciary system. I have also had a bitter experience. There was a marketing periodical, A&M, which I enjoyed reading during my student days. I had applied for a 5-year subscription and I did not get a single issue. My case rests in the Consumer court (which is known to dispense cases quickly) from the past 4 years.
My cousin who is studying law in a reputed school in Pune tells me that there is preference for corporate law among students rather than the traditional ones. I also understand that a small percentage of students have taken interest in environmental law. The trend is towards working in top law firms and eventually as corporate consultants unlike in the traditional areas of law.
There is another side of the story. In the US, there is an organization known as Better Business Bureau. If you are a unhapy customer you can register your complaint on the website. The Americans go to the extreme of filing a divorce on the net. Well, few years ago, an Indian went to a Mexican restaurant and ordered a bean burrito(a veg snack). But he was given a beef burrito. Unaware of this, he took a mouthful and later realised about the mistake. He sued the company for thousands of dollars citing that his sentiments were hurt and he had to travel to Varanasi to cleanse his sin in the river Ganges. He also claimed severe emotional damage.The irony of all this is, he won the suit.
Post a Comment