Cleaning the Courtroom: Examining the issues that plague Indian judiciary

On January 12, 2018, four senior judges of the Supreme Court, J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and Madan Lokur, held a press conference in New Delhi, and listed out certain issues that they believed were affecting the functioning of the country’s highest court. “Unless this institution (judiciary) is preserved, democracy will not survive in this country,” said Chelameswar, who was then the second most senior Supreme Court judge. A similar sentiment is echoed in Cleaning the Courtroom, a documentary by economist and author Vasanth Adithya. It delves deep into the issues that ail the Indian judiciary and attempts to find solutions to these problems featuring insights from activists, lawyers, and experts.

The documentary opens with a narration that traces the history of the judicial process in India. We’re ushered to a time when the justice administration was in tandem with the religious philosophy preached by the reigning monarch to 1950 (when the Constitution of India came into effect). It soon shifts its lens to the subject in focus — the need for reform in the functioning of the judiciary. In order to trigger change, it is necessary to identify the gaps and weaknesses in the system. The documentary lists delay in justice delivery, corruption, lack of transparency, independence of the judiciary, people participation and sensitisation within the judiciary as areas that need immediate attention.

Justice delayed is justice denied

Delay in the administration of justice is one of the primary concerns that plague the Indian judiciary, and this is not something that is unheard of. Time and again, courts have stated that “the right to a speedy trial is a fundamental right inherent under Article 21 of the Constitution which provides for the right to life and personal liberties.” Despite this, many cases drag on for years, as hopeful plaintiffs are left with little respite. This, inevitably, brews frustration, distrust, and a lack of faith in the judicial proceedings among the public. One prime example is the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder. Although a Fast Track Court awarded the death penalty to all four convicts in 2013, it took another seven years for the verdict to be executed.

In March 2022, law minister Kiren Rijiju said that over 4.70 crore cases were pending in various courts in India, of which 70,154 were pending in the Supreme Court. This is a major concern especially since the judge-to-population ratio in India is one of the lowest in the world. Justice Chandru, a noted former judge of the Madras High Court who is interviewed for the documentary remarked that “any attempts to reform the judiciary should be to have the justice delivery system to be tuned to become faster and more effective”.

When justice is delayed, the public also starts losing faith in the most important institution in this country. This became evident when a large majority of the population commended the 2019 police encounter in Hyderabad wherein four rape accused were killed by the police while they were in custody. There are multiple facets to this issue, one of them being the abhorrent lack of understanding among the educated masses as to why an ‘alleged fake encounter’ should never be celebrated, and another being how custodians of the law found it easy to manipulate the narrative in their favour.

So what could be a solution to the problem? Those interviewed in this documentary opine that the effective use of technology could curb judicial delays to an extent. Moreover, technology can also make documents and files more accessible to the litigants, ensuring more transparency and accountability.

Corruption: The age-old practice that’s hard to eliminate

According to the latest report released by Transparency International, India ranked 85 among 180 countries in its corruption perception index of 2021. The report also said, “There are concerns over the country's democratic status, as fundamental freedoms and institutional checks and balances decay.”

Just like any other institution, the judiciary is no exception to corruption. In 2012, CBI special court judge Talluri Pattabhirama Rao was suspended by the Andhra Pradesh High Court for accepting a bribe of Rs 10 crore in two instalments from former Karnataka minister Gali Janardhana Reddy in exchange for granting him bail in an illegal mining case. More recently, the CBI filed a charge sheet against the former Justice of the Allahabad High Court S.N. Shukla for allegedly accepting a bribe and passing a verdict in favour of a medical college in Lucknow. Interference of the legislature or executive in the judicial process can also be deemed as corruption.

Moreover, it is essential to make the judges’ appointment process more transparent. At present, a collegium system is being followed to appoint judges and chief justices. Under the collegium system, the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court decide on appointments and transfers of judges. In 2014, the central government introduced the NJAC Bill that granted powers to the National Judicial Appointments Commission for recommending persons for the appointment of the Chief Justice of India and the other judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts. However, in 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the bill and termed it ‘unconstitutional’.

Sensitisation and representation matter

It is essential to sensitise police officers, lawyers, and judges in order to adopt a more friendly approach while dealing with informants and complainants, especially in cases of violence against women. Frequent reports have noted that police officers behave rudely and ask insensitive questions to survivors of rape and sexual assault. According to activist Geetha Menon, this arises due to the “casteist, feudal mentality [that] people still have”.

Additionally, there should be representation from all sections of society in the judicial process. More women, people with disabilities, and those from backward castes must be given the opportunity to be judges and Chief Justices in order for the judiciary to be truly democratic.

The way forward

Four years since the historic press conference, nothing much has changed. Despite its shortcomings, the Indian judiciary has made some path-breaking judgements in recent years such as the ban on instantaneous Triple Talaq and granting equal rights to women in the Indian Army. However, the recent news related to the Bilkis Bano gang-rape case has put the spotlight back on the Indian judiciary — Will justice be served or denied?

(Few of the cases, judgements and events mentioned in this piece have been included for context. The documentary doesn't allude to specific individuals, cases or judgements.)