The decision by the Courts to only hear urgent matters in view of the current COVID-19 crisis may be a step in the wrong direction. As for every litigant his case is urgent, the Judiciary could have taken other precautionary measures to safeguard the health of Judges, Advocates and staff against the spread of Corona virus while not upsetting the normal working of the Courts.
We need to be all very concerned of the fact that even in a small State like Goa there is a very huge pendency of cases in various Courts across the State including the High Court. A mountain of cases are dragging and remain pending which includes a very huge pendency for over a decade and the pile up even involves cases pertaining to Senior Citizens, for many of whom Justice eludes and evades in their life span. This utter sorry state of affairs is untenable as justice delayed is justice denied. The unacceptable backlog of cases is a clear failure of both the legislature and the judiciary. Both have a duty and owe a responsibility towards the citizens and are bound by the mandate of the Constitution to dispense justice to the last man in the queue in a timely and truthful way. Rajendra Menon, while retiring as the Chief Justice of Delhi High Court has said that until and unless we are able to deliver timely justice to the citizens, the faith in the system may erode and if such a thing happens, it would be a disaster for the democratic system of this country, while expressing concern over the huge dependency of cases and long delays in their disposal. Aires Rodrigues Advocate High Court C/G-2, Shopping Complex Ribandar Retreat, Ribandar – Goa – 403006 Mobile No: 9822684372 Office Tel No: (0832) 2444012 Email: airesrodrigu...@gmail.com Or airesrodrig...@yahoo.com You can also reach me on Facebook.com/ AiresRodrigues Twitter@rodrigues_aires www.airesrodrigues.com