Public Administration Mains 2018 : Model Question and Answer - 109
(Public Administration Paper II / Chapter: Union Government and Administration)
(Current Based) Question: The judiciary is the last hope of the people, more effectively than ever before to ensure justice. Comment (30 Marks/400 Words)
Model Answer:
THE INDIAN Judiciary has an impressive record and its credibility used to be very high till recently. The Executive and the Legislature are way behind even today. Without the Judiciary, there can be no rule of law. The people of India have a tremendous stake in the Judiciary which is the only hope and last resort for all oppressed citizens. More than power, it is the moral authority that sustains the Judiciary.
S. P. Bharucha as Chief Justice of India frankly admitted that there was corruption in the ranks of the Judiciary to some extent, mostly at the lower levels. The constitutional provision for impeachment of judges of High Courts and of the Supreme Court is impracticable. The disease of judicial corruption has, therefore, to be tackled by other methods before it assumes the proportions of an epidemic.
The most pressing problem facing the Judiciary is its inability to deliver speedy justice. It is possible to ease the congestion by introducing shift system in all courts deploying retired judges and administrative staff who enjoy high reputation for integrity and efficiency. The Law Commission in its 125th Report (1988) recommended introducing shift system in the Supreme Court.
In 1999, the then Law Minister, thought of shift system in all courts, but could not implement it. Shift system is in vogue in industrial establishments and some educational institutions because of necessity. With minimum cost, the shift system can yield maximum output, providing immense relief to lakhs of helpless litigants, endlessly waiting for justice. Shift system, helps distribution of work among more lawyers and to some extent break, the monopoly of a few practitioners in every court. It will give more satisfaction to the litigants as compared to any other alternative method of dispute resolution such as arbitration or Lok Adalat.
The prospect of re-employment after retirement will also act as incentive to serving judges and judicial officers to remain honest and discharge their duties efficiently. Retired judges need not then look forward to the Executive for discretionary assignments. This would reinforce the independence of the judiciary. No reform can be a success without the cooperation of the Bar.
There is no point in wasting the precious human resources in the shape of retired judges when the institution is about to collapse under the weight of pending cases. (Total Words- 385)
Valuable Inputs from The Hindu Opinion : ‘The Judiciary’ by P P Rao
(Linkages: Indian Judiciary and People’s Credibility, Judiciary and Rule of Law, Judiciary and Pending Cases)