About the Book

Book: Tareek Pe Justice 

Author: Prashant Reddy, Chitrakshi Jain

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Price: Rs 799/-

At the heart of democracy lies justice, but in India’s lower courts, that ideal is often compromised. The book is an in-depth reflection on the harsh truths of the country’s judicial machinery, writes Kumar Chellappan

There is an adage in Malayalam that literally means ‘one’s downfall and suffering commence the moment he/she decides to construct a new house or enters the court of law’. While the construction of the new house could somehow be completed, the same cannot be said about court cases in India.

The courts are not that bad as they are made out in the media. It is the slow-moving judicial procedure which upsets the litigants. There are many instances when the judicial process takes decades to deliver the justice. But there are some good aspects of our justice delivery system. Each case file that comes to the consideration of a lawyer is a gold mine, a gold mine of stories and characters for those who are interested about human bondage.

As the catchword goes, where there is a successful democracy, there will be an effective judiciary. Courts of law are the institutions that give relief to those whose rights to life and liberty are violated. We also say that justice delayed is justice denied. The new generation people in the country might not have heard the name Rajan Pillai, popularly known as Britania Rajan Pillai and the Biscuit King. He was denied bail by the magistrate of a Delhi court despite the business baron’s plea that he was suffering from liver cirrhosis. The Tihar Jail authorities ensured that Rajan died during his incarceration. This is one of the millions of incidents that happen in the country because of the lackadaisical approach of the lower courts.

It is these kinds of injustices meted out by the lower courts in India that have made Prashant Reddy and Chitrakshi Jain write Tareekh Pe Justice, Reforms for India’s District Courts. The recent seizure of unaccounted money worth crores of rupees from the official residence of a High Court Judge in New Delhi is an indication of the rut that has set in our judicial system.

Reddy and Jain argue with facts that the main problems afflicting the Indian judiciary, the shortage of judges and poor infrastructure, are just the tip of the iceberg. Other reasons contribute to the staggering backlog of cases. Judges in the district-level courts are worried about the consequences they have to face in the eventuality of pronouncing a verdict that is unpalatable to the Government concerned. It is an open secret that the Government in power at State capitals have a say in appointing judges to the district level courts.

The CPI(M) in Kerala is hand-picking law graduates based on recommendations made by the party leaders. You cannot expect justice from such recruits who act as the party’s investigators as well as judges.

But there is hope. Judges like Aneesh, Sarat, and Smitha George, who preside over the courts in Ernakulam district, offer a ray of hope. The poise and elan with which these judicial officers dispense judgment is praiseworthy. The National Judicial Data Grid, that is a portal maintained by the Government of India says that more than 4.55 crore cases are pending in the lower judiciary of the country. Prashant Reddy and Chitrakshi Jain throw light on the complex nature of the Indian judiciary. Most of these cases are pending in the district courts in India.

The authors have pointed out the shocking stance adopted by the Indian Government immediately after the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, rated as the world’s worst industrial disaster and how the timely intervention of the legendary Nani Palkhivala, who enlightened the US court about the capability of the Indian judiciary, saved the country’s image.