[Answered] Discuss the impact of slow Judiciary and delayed justice on Indian economic growth. Give some solutions.

Well-functioning formal judicial institutions are important for economic development. Efficient courts are the backbone of the modern economy. A sound judiciary is key to enforcing laws and creating trust in the economy, allowing economic exchange between complete strangers by deterring fraud and increasing the incentives for fair play. Unsurprisingly, then, when the justice system breaks down, the consequences are bad.

Impact of slow judiciary on economy:

1. A slow judiciary with a large number of pending cases reduces trust in the economy and makes people fearful.
2. It delay contracts enforcement, thereby impinging business. India rank poorly in the category of enforcing contracts. It takes, on average, almost 4 years to enforce a standard sales agreement in a local court, and costs up to 30% more.
3. A slow judiciary forces participants to adopt loss-minimising strategies that are not always efficient resulting in rise in the costs of goods and services. E.g. Landowners have to increase the rent significantly or ask the tenant to deposit a security amount to cover the risk due to the insecurity created by a weak judiciary.
4. It deters firms from making investments in the nation due to low confidence and time to resolve disputes if arise.
5. A weak judiciary has a negative effect on economic and social development, which leads to lower per capita income, higher poverty rates, lower private economic activity, poorer public infrastructure and higher crime rates.

Some measures to improve judiciary:

1. Categorisation of disputes under provident fund, gratuity or industrial laws before passing them through the resolution can reduce the burden on judicial organs.
2. Thousands of cases and appeals are pending under various State and municipal laws. These laws can be simplified and should be made more clear with clear rules and regulations.
3. Retired Supreme Court judge should be employed specifically to opine on pending disputed issues and direct the departments to effect a fast resolution.
4. Bulk disposition by consensus is the way out of the humungous backlog of civil litigation.
5. Setting up Supreme Court benches in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata would help thousands of litigants who otherwise end up travelling all the way to Delhi.
6. We can follow the Chinese model where law students are encouraged to appear for the national judicial examination to ensure a steady availability of quality judges at least in the lower judiciary.
7. Massive computerisation for case management and technological framework is needed.

Clearing the mounting backlog in our judicial backyard is doable with strong political will. With efficient judiciary India can achieve growth over 8% with fast track resolutions and ensuring less crime in the country leading to overall development of society.