Click to play videoNew Delhi: Students from the United States are in India to study the legal system. And they say what many of us know only too well---Indian Courts take very long to deliver justice.
“I think the Indian judicial system is impressive, but at this time it is over loaded,” says a student. While another adds, “I think the system that is in place now is over-taxed.” “In practice it can be improved,” another student further adds.
Thomas, Rosemary and David are students from Northwestern University in the US, who are in India for a two-week trip to see if the Indian judiciary works or not.
“Our paper will be about the nature and extent of the backlog and delays as well as the causes and consequences. Also about some the different solutions that the Government and the Indian Judiciary has thought out,” says David Burciaga.
And to make sense of our great legal labyrinth, they have already met journalists, lawyers, judges, government officials and even the Law Minister. But are the legal eagles fuming?
“The discussions with them ranged from procedural aspects, the backlog of cases and how adjournments are sought on a regular basis. And how progressively both the civil and the criminal judicial system can be revamped,” says lawyer, R Venkataraman.
They admit they are no experts but feel there is a glaring difference in the justice delivery systems of India and the USA.
“In the US criminal system, the US Constitution guarantees the right to a speedy trial. And in the civil system, atleast at the federal level, there is a federal register that keeps track of the backlog,” says Rosemary Greene.
A look at some of our never-ending cases says they may be more right than wrong:
- The Priyadarshini Mattoo case took 10 years.
- Same for both the Uphaar tragedy and the CP shootout case.
- The recent judgement in the Shivani Bhatnagar case came after nine years.
- Jessica Lal's verdict took seven years and even after six years.
- The Nitish Katara case is still awaiting conviction.
With 2.5 crore cases pending in the lower courts and another 37 lakh in the High Courts, the files if piled up would be 800 times the Mount Everest, which is mountains of backlog.
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