Status of Indian judiciary

Some experts recently suggested that India's judicial system be overhauled.

Introduction

• British colonial legacy: The Indian judicial system is based on recorded judicial precedents that were inherited from the British colonial legacy.
• The Indian court system is hierarchical, with the Supreme Court of India, High Courts, and subordinate courts at the district, municipal, and village levels.
• Article 141: The Supreme Court's decisions on the constitutional validity of enacted legislation, including constitutional amendments, are binding on all other courts and authorities in the country (Article 141).
• There is no area of legislative or executive activity that escapes article 144.
• Article 144: The Supreme Court has the authority to hold any authority in contempt if it disregards or disobeys a court order.
• In India, there is no law to guide our judges; we only have guidelines.

Information/ Facts:

• There are 18 high courts, one for each of the 28 states and eight Union Territories.
• The British established the Sadar Diwani Adalat and established the common law system in India.
• They were followed by the formation of high courts.
• In 1862, the first high court was established in Calcutta.
• On January 28, 1950, the Supreme Court was established. The Supreme Court has 31 members, including the Chief Justice.
• Article 124: The President may impeach a Supreme Court judge if the resolution for impeachment is approved by two-thirds of the members present and voting.

The Indian Judiciary's Roles:

Upholding and interpreting the Constitution:

• The judiciary is in charge of safeguarding and upholding the Constitution and its ideals.
• The courts interpret the Constitution and overturn any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation that violates or infringes on the provisions of the Constitution.

Resolving inter-state disputes:

• The Indian Constitution establishes a federal structure of governance.
• As a result, disagreements between the states and the Union and the States are unavoidable.
• The judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, is crucial in resolving such disagreements.

Fundamental Rights Protection:

• Part III of the Constitution grants citizens, non-citizens, legal and natural persons certain fundamental rights.
• The judiciary ensures that these basic rights are not infringed upon.
• If a legislative or executive act violates these rights, the Constitutional courts have the authority to issue writs.

Legislative assistance:

• In a number of cases, the court's issue guidelines that are later incorporated into statutes by the legislature.
• The judiciary also advises the President on constitutional issues and resolves any doubts about the provisions of the Constitution.

Judicial precedents have binding value.

• The Supreme Court's decisions are binding on all courts in India. Decisions of High Courts, lower courts, or other judicial authorities do not bind the Supreme Court.
• Decisions of a High Court are binding on all inferior courts within its jurisdiction (as long as they do not contradict Supreme Court decisions) but have only persuasive value in courts outside its jurisdiction. If the High Court's decisions conflict with those of a similar bench, the case is referred to a higher bench.
• Decisions of higher courts in their respective states bind lower courts. Decisions of other states' high courts have only persuasive value.

Obstacles in the legal system

• Overburdened and delayed justice: The constitutional courts, namely the Supreme Court and the high courts, are swamped with cases. This causes enormous delays in justice, and in some cases, litigation can last for decades.
• Litigation is an expensive affair, and in many cases, ordinary people are forced to give up their rights and claims because they cannot afford the legal proceedings.

Inadequate infrastructure:

• The judiciary lacks the necessary infrastructure to handle the massive caseload. The judicial complexes are overcrowded, and many Courts lack digital infrastructure.

• Several laws from the British era have become obsolete and must be amended, modified, or repealed.

Regular adjournments:

• In such unprecedented times, regular court proceedings in our Indian courts have either been adjourned or have been carried out virtually via videoconferencing.

eCourts website:

• It provides a one-stop shop for all stakeholders, including litigants, advocates, government agencies, police, and ordinary citizens.
• E-filing: E-filing, also known as electronic filing, is a service that allows you to file cases over the internet.

NJDG (National Judicial Data Grid):

• Case statistics at the national, state, district, and individual court levels are now available to the general public, researchers, academics, and society at large.
• e-Sewa Kendra: The e-Sewa Kendra serves as a one-stop shop for accessing all of the eCourts Project's facilities.

ICJS (Interoperable Criminal Justice System):

• It is an e-Committee initiative to seamlessly transfer data and information between the various pillars of the criminal justice system, such as courts, police, jails, juvenile homes, and forensic science laboratories, from a single platform.

The Way Forward

• Independence: The judiciary, as an institution, must maintain its independence, and to do so, it must strive to maintain the public's trust in the established courts.
• Institutions and organizations: The judges' independence is best safeguarded by the institutions and organisations that the law empowers them to establish, in order to preserve the image of an incorruptible higher judiciary that commands the respect of all right-thinking people.
• Democracy requires a vibrant and independent judiciary for any democracy to thrive.
• The judiciary in India ensures that there is a rule of law and that citizens' rights are not violated.
• Checks and Balances: It also keeps the other two branches of government, the legislature and the executive, in check.
• Judge shortage: There is an urgent need to address the judge shortage and ensure that cases are resolved in a timely manner.
• Improving infrastructure: The judicial infrastructure and trial court working conditions must be improved in order to attract talent to the judicial profession.

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