[Answered] “Problem in India is not the absence of law but it’s effective implementation.” Discuss.

India has a robust judiciary and is playing an important role in providing justice. Despite of having so many good laws there are still so many crimes happening in our country. The country has adequate laws but the main issue arises in its implementation. Poor implementation of laws often lead to inefficiencies and crimes in the society.

Some examples of poor law implementation in India:

1. Environmental Laws: The Government has passed various laws to reduce the damage being caused to the environment such as the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Environmental Protection Act, 1986, National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 etc. They are not implemented properly and despite having a specialised court to deal with environmental damage still persists.
2. Gender Laws: Women in India though are progressing and breaking barriers in the form of pro-gender laws. They still lack an effective implementation. According to the United Nations report on gender equality India is still behind the rest of the world significantly.
3. Labour Laws: Child labour still persists despite having strict labour laws like the Payment of Wages Act 1936, The Minimum Wages Act, 1948 etc.
4. Right to information: According to studies conducted the right to information laws in our country are poorly implemented. It has been reported that a huge backlog of cases have been created and the petitioners are often left with poor quality orders.

Reasons for the poor implementation of laws in India:

1. Poor conviction rates: The cases under various laws are increasing but the conviction rate is still very low.
2. Lack of state cooperation and will: On ground implementation of laws depend on state action. State when it comes to implementing laws perform poorly either due to reasons like corruption, lack of resources or due to political rift with centre.
3. Lack of political will: Every few years before the elections Politicians make promises to bring out laws but after the elections, they are least interested in its implementation.
4. Lack of rules: A law made by the Parliament can only be applied if the government makes rules along with it as well. The Benami Transactions Act which was enacted in 1988 gave the government the power to confiscate the Benami properties. But due to the lack of rules framed these properties have not been seized for the last 26 years.
5. High Population: India has 2^nd largest population in the world. Due to such high population laws even though enacted are difficult to implement.
6. Lack of review: Public Consultation and feedback can help to identify the flaws in the law. Only a few laws in India have been invited for feedback. There is also a lack of a mechanism to get these feedbacks while making rules.
7. High diversity: Due to high diversity it is difficult to implement laws. Language barriers, local customs are some roadblocks in proper implementation of laws.
8. Corruption: Corruption is the biggest problem in India. Criminals who are caught get their way out by bribing money.
9. Habit of breaking laws: People have developed a tendency to break laws. Where the law loses respect it is impossible to ensure the protection of rights and maintenance of peace. Despite being educated in laws they are still broken.

Solution to improve law implementation:

1. Adequate resources must be allocated by the Government for the effective implementation of existing laws, improve conviction rates and ensure that justice is done.
2. A post review of the laws will help the Government in understanding why these laws are not getting followed properly by the citizens and can help in removing all the flaws in the laws for its better implementation.
3. Around 2500 Acts are operational in our country at the central level. There should be consistency between the implementation of laws through rules by the government and the intent of the Parliament.
4. People need to be made aware of laws and the people’s tendency to break laws need to be broken down. The population also has to be controlled.

Law making by Parliament is the first step in addressing gaps in our legal system. Laws are ideas and the details of their implementation come through rules. It is the implementation of the law that tests its effectiveness in addressing problems on the ground. Poor implementation will make even the greatest law ineffective.