Vajpayee raps judiciary

NEW DELHI, Nov 26 (PTI) — Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today rapped the judiciary for inordinate delays in disposal of cases and termed the state of criminal justice system as "alarming" while calling for urgent remedial actions like an alternate dispute redressal mechanism and scrapping of outdated laws to stem the rot.

Doing some plain-speaking at the golden jubilee function of the Supreme Court here, Mr Vajpayee said: "There is an all pervasive perception that the law has become a shield of the unscrupulous".

"The exasperating and increasing delays of the judicial system justly invite derision and contempt", he said while reminding the judiciary that over two crore cases were pending in the subordinate courts of the country of which 36 lakh alone were in the High Courts.

Mr Vajpayee said: "I will be remiss in my duty, as a people’s representative, if I did not express today people’s deep dissatisfaction over the pace of dispensation of justice in our country."

Chief Justice A.S. Anand had in turn squarely blamed the Centre and the state governments for not filling the vacancy of judges in various courts resulting in huge backlog of cases and delay in dispensation of justice.

Asserting that his government was committed to implementing far-reaching judicial and administrative reforms, the Prime Minister announced that a national judicial commission would be set up "soon" to recommend judicial appointments in superior courts and draw up a code of ethics for the judiciary.

The manifesto of the NDA specifically favoured the setting of a national judicial commission and other measures to prevent slow motion of justice to the common man.

Expressing displeasure at the delay in justice, the Prime Minister said the state of affairs in criminal law was even more shocking. "It is not very difficult for members of organised gangs to indulge in crime without fear of punishment. The rate of conviction of accused in various crimes is pathetically low," he said. Big economic offenders almost invariably went scot-free, using considerable resources, he lamented.

Mr Vajpayee suggested that there should be an alternative dispute settlement mechanisms at all levels of judiciary, outdated laws should be scrapped and lower courts revitalised.

The Prime Minister said with the help of law, even the weak should be able to prevail over the strong but lamented that it was not the case at present.

"There is an all-pervasive perception that the law has become a shield for the unscrupulous. The exasperating and increasingly expensive delays of the judicial system justly invite derision and contempt," he said.