A justice system rendered impotent.

There was an article today that 3 people were killed over a long running property dispute. This seems to be the 4th such news I have read in as many months.

To me, this seems to be the outcome of a new age society working with a stone age system. It seems obvious that a timely resolution by due process of law and a proper court system would have prevented this tragedy and also stop “Kangaroo courts” from operating in parts of the country trying to peddle justice to the frustrated masses.

It is no secret that the court system in our country is glacial, taking on an average 8 and in some cases 25 years or more to deliver justice. When the law of the land just doesn’t move (or takes too long), this is the obvious outcome.

For any civilized society to function properly, the justice system should work and work in a timely manner. Our failed system is equally culpable, if not more. I am no expert, but some “commonsense” solutions:

1. Prevent fraudulent and invalid cases from clogging the system in the first place.
   • It is no secret that a huge proportion of civil disputes in the country are property and tenancy related. There should be a barrier to entry, where some very basic facts & proof are checked by a competent person before admitting a case (a.k.a “Case Discovery”). In the absence of this, there is a huge incentive to file a case just to get time or use it as a tool of harassment.
2. Once a case is filed, setup an automatic case calendar (like in US systems). The maximum dates & the case calendar are sent to both the lawyers as soon as the case is filed and they cannot delay it beyond a point or risk losing the case (and their licenses)
3. Remove Archaic laws
   • Things that are framed under the British rule or during early independence and are no longer valid should be scrapped. A separate body should be constituted to do this.
4. Do not allow appeals unless fundamental facts have changed
   • There was a news article recently about a tenancy dispute case that went all the way to supreme court and settled after 22 years. The lower courts have given their verdict in favor of one party. High court upheld it, but it still went to the supreme court. At one point, apparently, the parties were arguing about “willful default” and how to interpret the word “willful” based on a particular dictionary!! The common man might be forgiven for scratching his head and asking why the heck does it matter why he didn’t pay, so long as he didn’t pay? The courts should have a clear mandate to not entertain any appeals unless something fundamental has changed (a new fact or new evidence) can be shown conclusively and should impose penalties if it proved that the appeal was brought without one.

In the absence of that, even the best laid out laws are impotent and our system little better than a banana republic.

Will the next government (hopefully a new one!) take note?