By Tarunkumar Singhal, Raman Jokhakar, Chartered Accountants
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The lumbering wheels of the Indian judicial system may hopefully begin to move at a pace faster than the crawl that they are accustomed to now. A central government suggestion that the higher judiciary impose fines on lower court judges who allow frequent adjournments is an imaginative and potentially effective means to put an end to the swelling workload on the subordinate courts, caused by granting too many adjournments to cases.If the higher judiciary accedes to the governments recommendation, it will caution not just subordinate but also superior court judges who,too,are not completely free from indulging in granting unnecessary adjournments.
Imposing fines is an effective penalty for causing delays in justice delivery that every citizen can expect. It is also a measure of accountability that the government is belatedly trying to enforce through the higher judiciary.While it is easy to hold the lower courts guilty for slowing the justice delivery mechanism,the Supreme Court and the high courts too contribute to delays and arrears.Across the board,others suffer from the inexplicable weakness of sitting on judgments.
(Source: The Times of India dated 01-07-2013)
(Comment: As the Government is the largest litigant in Revenue Matters, it need to retrospect as to what is the role of its officials in seeking repeated adjournments? Also make them accountable!!!)
