Solutions to India’s judicial inefficiencies

Source: The post solutions to India’s judicial inefficiencies has been created, based on the article “The judiciary is slow and clogged — it’s time to get outside help to fix it” published in “Indian Express” on 22nd November 2024

UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 2– Polity- Judiciary

Context: The article discusses solutions to India’s judicial inefficiencies. It highlights court delays, staff shortages, and administrative burdens. Suggestions include measuring performance, delegating administrative tasks to retired officials, and learning from successful projects to improve case management and judicial efficiency.

For detailed information on Judicial Reforms read this article here

What are the key issues facing the Indian judiciary?

1. Over 45 million cases are pending in subordinate courts, making up 85% of total cases.
2. District courts are burdened with poor infrastructure, such as a 21% shortage of judicial officers and 27% shortage of non-judicial staff. States like Bihar, Rajasthan, and Telangana have staff shortages nearing 50%.
3. Routine tasks, like issuing summons and setting dates, take up 55% of a judicial officer’s time (as found by the Zero Pendency Courts project).
4. Half of the 90 cases listed daily in an average court get adjourned due to inefficient case-flow management.
5. Many district courts lack technology, such as video conferencing-enabled computers.

For detailed information on Issues with the justice system in India read this article here

What Solutions Did Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna Propose?

Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna suggested two main improvements:

1. Measuring Court Performance: By categorizing judges into performance tiers like high, above average, and below average.
2. Positive Reinforcement: Rewarding high-performing judges to encourage better outcomes.

What past models can inspire judicial reforms?

1. Cataract Blindness Project (1990s):
2. 11 million surgeries were conducted in five years across seven states.
3. Retired armed forces personnel managed logistics, allowing surgeons to focus solely on surgeries.
4. This demonstrated how delegating non-core tasks improved efficiency.
5. Delhi Magistrates in the 1960s:
6. Magistrates balanced judicial, revenue, and law-and-order duties while disposing of 60 warrant cases monthly.
7. Regular performance scrutiny by the District Magistrate boosted efficiency.
8. Monthly meetings encouraged accountability and improved case disposal.
9. Retired Officers for Administrative Tasks:
10. Retired officers from the Controller of Accounts efficiently managed health and population-related tasks.
11. This shows that retired officials, with expertise in workflow management, can handle administrative court duties.

What are the key takeaways?

1. Administrative reforms, not structural changes, can improve judicial efficiency.
2. Collaboration between state law secretaries, court registrars, and retired officials can bring quick results.
3. The goal is to allow judges to focus on judicial work, leading to a faster, fairer justice system.

Question for practice:

Examine how administrative reforms, inspired by past successful models, can address judicial inefficiencies in India.