* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 2008 Toronto International Goan Convention Theme: Goan Identity And Networking Today. http://2008goanconvention.com/index.php
Mario Miranda Festival, July 24-26, 2008 Old GMC Building http://lists.goanet.org/pipermail/goanet-goanet.org/2008-July/077732.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Not everyone is fortunate as Mukesh and Anil Ambani to have Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh mediate their legal feud. A network of over 14,000 courts across India is struggling with over four crore cases. The Indian judiciary is starved of funds, thus causing a large accumulation of cases that need to be heard. The high number of vacancies in courts prolongs the cases. Simply, there are not enough judges for the judiciary to be efficient. It is the common people who suffer the most from the lack of funds to the judiciary. The judiciary has correctly identified the very poor financial allocations made by the government as the root cause of the problem. The salaries of the judges at all levels are so low that no brilliant or successful lawyer would be tempted to move from the Bar to the Bench. Not only does the government refuse to appoint more judges, but also drag its feet in giving judges allowances for books, library and a proper residence. The result is that the justice delivery system is badly hit. The judiciary is held responsible for the mounting arrears of court cases even though it has no control over the allocation of resources. Though it has been a long-standing demand of the judiciary, governments have been reluctant to grant complete financial autonomy to the high courts. What the Indian judicial system lacks is a systematic plan to clear the backlog of cases. Courts are invariably overcrowded. This signifies desperation for justice as the temples of justice are spilling over with people hoping that their cases will be heard. Yet it takes years for litigants to get their cases decided because courts are overworked, with huge backlog of cases. It is not uncommon for a single court to be looking into thousands of cases. This results in enormous delays and by the time the courts are able to clear some of the backlog, scores of new cases are filed, perpetuating the challenges for the judiciary. The main reason behind such massive judicial clogging is that there are too few judges to look into too many cases. Financial institutions keep filing a large number of cases seeking to recover money through criminal proceedings by using the Negotiable Instruments Act, thus converting the courts into collection agents of these financial institutions as a result of which the trial of regular criminal cases is seriously hampered and delayed. As insurance companies do not follow a fair procedure of acknowledging liability, victims knock the doors of the courts as a result of which a large number of motor accident claims are pending. There are a huge number of land acquisition cases in courts because of mal-administration in land acquisition cases where the amounts awarded by land acquisition officers are unreasonable and as a result of which the parties are driven to litigation in most cases. In criminal cases tardy and inefficient investigations resulting in a huge delay in the filing of charge sheets is one of the main reasons for delay in the trial and disposal of cases. Inept policing and weak prosecutions are hugely responsible for slowing down criminal trials in many courts. Use of alternate dispute resolution methods in civil cases and plea bargaining for criminal cases has to be enhanced and monitored. The funds and resources being made available to the judiciary are woefully inadequate. There is a urgent need for sufficient budgetary allocations so that Courts are able to play their meaningful role. Given the considerable handicaps such as inadequate funds, budgetary allocations for law and justice not being part of plan expenditure, lack of resources, shortage of staff and infrastructure, the Judiciary can still claim a better standing in performance than other wings of governance. Less than one percent allocation by various states to run the judiciary, has been taking its toll. Fewer judges and the mounting backlog of cases are simply because finances are controlled by the Executive although courts too generate funds. All judicial officers throughout the country should be equipped with law books and journals and should be able to maintain a personal law library at their residence. In India the judge-population ratio is 10.5 judges per million. The law commission had suggested years ago that the ratio should be raised to at least 50 judges per million. But this recommendation continues to gather dust as governments are not willing to provide the required finances. The lawmakers, who are quick to criticise the judiciary for delays in the disposal of cases and for intruding into the territories claimed by them and the executive, are reluctant to loosen their grips on the exchequer to enable improve the infrastructure of the courts and the remuneration of the court personnel. The executive has almost total control over the budgetary allocation made for the judiciary. It is deplorable that the Chief Justices of the High Courts have to approach ministers for adequate funds. An inadequate judiciary is one that impedes the right to justice. This right should not be disregarded because of financial constraints. The very functioning of an egalitarian society depends on a reliable justice delivery system. A judiciary that is starved of funds is incapacitated and therefore cannot serve its function. Taking into consideration the immensity and diversity of our country, its huge population and the range of cases coupled with the volume of litigation in our courts, the Indian judiciary has carried a phenomenal burden which perhaps no other judiciary in the world has had to shoulder. As things stand today in their quest for justice the Judiciary is the only ray of hope for the Aam Aadmi. Everything possible has to be done to ensure that the justice delivery system does not crash for paucity of funds. The lack of funds for India's judicial system needs to be addressed within a human rights framework. There is a need for activists, lawyers, and judges to come together and study this issue. As far as Goa is concerned the least that should be done is to ensure that the the crores being paid to the current Advocate General who is India's highest paid constitutional authority, be infused to improve the infrastructure of Goa's judiciary and the emoluments and benefits of the Judges and staff entrusted with the very noble and responsible job of dispensing justice. Aires Rodrigues Ribandar - Goa Mobile: 9822684372 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **** http://www.GOANET.org **** --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tri Continental Film Festival 2008 July 25 - 30, 2008 Goa, India http://www.moviesgoa.org/page/tri_continental/ http://www.moviesgoa.org/tricon/schedule_2008.pdf ---------------------------------------------------------------------------