| Introduction: Give a brief context to the question Body: Why is there a need for regional benches highlight the benefits and drawbacks Conclusion: Way forward |
Recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice informed the Lok Sabha that the Law Ministry has accepted its recommendation to establish regional benches of the Supreme Court across India.
Necessity of Regional branches of SC
- Access to Justice: For many residents, particularly those from rural or disadvantaged origins, traveling to Delhi, the Supreme Court’s current seat, can be excessively costly and time-consuming. Regional benches could improve accessibility and preserve the inalienable right to justice by bringing justice closer to the people.
- Pendency of Cases: The Supreme Court’s enormous backlog of cases causes protracted delays in the resolution of legal disputes. Regional benches might aid in burden distribution, which could hasten the legal process and lower the number of cases pending.
- Diversity and Representation: A geographically centralized court may not always have a sufficient understanding of local legal challenges and subtleties. Judges on regional benches may have firsthand knowledge of local circumstances, which could result in more knowledgeable and representative rulings.
- Lowering Litigation Expenses: Attending hearings in Delhi adds a substantial amount to litigation expenses. Regional benches might drastically lower these costs for litigants, resulting in more accessible and reasonably priced justice.
Benefits
- Improved access to justice for all: Reduced travel and financial burdens could encourage more people to seek legal recourse.
- Reduced case backlog: Distributing the workload across multiple benches could potentially expedite the judicial process.
- Enhanced representation and diversity: Judges with regional expertise could bring diverse perspectives to the bench.
- Reduced litigation costs: Litigants wouldn’t have to travel to Delhi, making justice more affordable.
Drawbacks
- Uniformity of jurisprudence: Maintaining consistency in legal interpretations across different benches might be challenging.
- Selection of judges: Ensuring impartiality and merit-based selection of judges for regional benches could be complex.
- Infrastructure and logistics: Setting up and maintaining regional benches would require significant infrastructure and logistical investments.
- Potential for regional bias: Judges might be influenced by local pressures or sentiments, potentially impacting impartiality.
Conclusion
The establishment of regional benches should be supplemented with efforts to develop judicial infrastructure like increasing judges and reducing the pendency of cases.
