Judicial reform in India: Challenges  & Way forwards

Responsive Judicial System:

Article published in Indian express: 22 Nov,2024

• Exactly one year ago, the Supreme Court’s Centre for Research and Planning (CRP) published a report, ‘State of the Judiciary’, in which the current Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna’s suggestions find a place.

What are challenges that article highlights?

• The administrative bottlenecks
• Subordinate Court Backlogs – Over 45 million civil and criminal cases are pending
• 55 per cent of a judicial officer’s day in the criminal courts is spent on routine administrative tasks such as issuing summons and setting dates, rather than substantive judicial work.

❖ Case Management Problems -Poor case-flow management systems

❖ Structural Issues – Limited resources and infrastructure

❖ Administrative Overload on Judges

• Shortage of qualified people in the court registries.
• There is a 27 per cent shortage of non-judicial staff across the country. Some states like Bihar, Rajasthanand Telangana had shortages veering nearer to 50 per cent.

Reforms Needed :

❖ Performance Metrics for Judges & positive reinforcemnet for performers (SC Centre for

research and planning)

❖ Empower supervisory authorities (High Courts) to oversee subordinate court performance

❖ Leveraging Technology – VC facility – Summoning etc

❖ Induction of Experts from Outside the Judiciary

• Divesting administrative responsibilities
• open reviews of case disposal

Case study: Cataract Blindness Project of the 1990s/

Steps Taken :

• e-filing
• digitization
• half the district courts
• Delhi High Court’s Zero Pendency Courts project