Pendency leads to legal injustice: SC judge

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 10

A Supreme Court judge, Justice AM Khanwilkar, today said the high pendency of cases in courts reflected the pitfalls of the contemporary legal system which resulted in a large section of people suffering from legal injustice.

Justice Khanwilkar spoke on “Different Facets of the Constitution” as part of a lecture series organised by the State Legal Services Authority here. Focusing his lecture on “Access to Justice”, he said every citizen must have the right to social and economic justice as enshrined in the Constitution.

“Though the huge pendency reflects the disputes but at the same time we must not forget that this is only 10 per cent to 15 per cent of the population as the remaining give up their rights, suffering from legal injustice,” he remarked. He exhorted lawyers to make justice accessible and affordable to all, especially the middle income group.

Admitting that the insufficient judge ratio was also one of the contributing factors for pendency, he, at the same time, lamented that the deserving and competent lawyers were not coming forward to shoulder the responsibility of a judge.

“The feeling among people that courts cannot vindicate their legal rights is a very dangerous situation and we all need to introspect to dismantle this perception,” he emphasised.

Sharing his own personal experience, he said he had been hearing some cases as old as 1975 as the cases move from one court to another and finally the apex court and at times back to trial court.

Justice Khanwilkar said the lawyers could contribute in reducing prolonged litigation so that the litigants get speedy justice.

Justice Khanwilkar, who was instrumental in introducing digital technology in the Himachal High Court during his tenure here, said the use of information technology would not only help infuse speedy justice but also ensure transparency and accountability. He also stressed the need for providing legal aid to the middle class.

In his address, Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir said that the Constitution was a set of fundamental basic rules governing the politics of a nation. He said judiciary occupied an important place and acted as the protector of fundamental rights of the citizens and the guardian of the Constitution. “If any law passed by the legislature or action taken by the executive contravenes any provision of the Constitution, it can be declared as null and void by the Supreme Court,” he said.

Justice Sanjay Karol, Chairman of the HP State Legal Services Authority said there were 6,000 free legal volunteers in the state and 180 advocates of the High Court had formed a Core Group which audited the activities of the Legal Services Authority.