Justice Must Reach the Poor: Civil Services Mentor Magazine September 2013

When Sir Elijah Impey enthroned himself on the coveted position of the Chief Justice of Supreme Court in 1773; the journey of the dispensation of justice in ‘modern’ India began. Obviously, this does not imply the nonexistence of justice, more so; propoor justice in pre-modern India. Who will not reminisce the evolution of the Indian Judicial system since the era of the nomadic communities in the Rig Vedic period to the individual brilliance of Jehangir in the form of Janzeer-i-adl. The Judicial system in India had been well structured, though at times reaching the zenith of glory or the abyss of disgrace during the periods of individual feudal lords, kings or emperors.

Nevertheless, till the advent of the concepts of Western Democracy and Justice, probably there was no serious thought regarding “Justice” to be ‘just’ !! Since antiquity, justice in India (if not in the rest of the world too) practically was viewed as the decrees bestowed on the society by a privileged lot, the lot being the Brahmins, the Kings, the Ulemas or the Badshahs, including the regional variations of these nomenclatures. Whether it was the Manusmriti or the Quran, whether it was the Temple Priest or the Qazi, on the majority of occasions, Justice in India had been the prerogative of a coterie.

So, when the Supreme Court in Calcutta (now Kolkata) was set up as one of the provisions of the Regulating Act (1773), it must have evoked a response of gayness, at least amongst the progressive denizens of the city. But soon it was to falter in its objective of being a “Court of Equity” as Nand Kumar was denied access to ‘just’ “Justice”. With time, Indians overcame the initial mesmerization regarding the British system of Justice when the Ilbert Bill was vehemently opposed and not put into effect! Hence historically, Justice was belied, if not denied, to the native Indians, probably because of racial arrogance of the Britishers or due to the very nature of Justice itself ! Indians at that period, meant Indians of all variety, whether rich or poor.

With the dawn of independence, the free Indians dreamt of a different society altogether, far from the clutches of foreign oppression and closer to the Utopia of social integration. But whether free India has really been able to cherish her dreams of pluralism and justice through its arduous journey in the last six decades still remains a matter of debate. Probably the starting point of the ‘goof up’ had been the rampant imposition of the British system of Justice on a society which was hardly aware of it, either from the point of view of the concept, or from the perspective of language.

Moreover, Indians never did a Phoenix act in regard to our struggle for independence which meant that the masses were in oblivion of the romantic ideas of Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity and for that matter, Justice. Nor were we well accustomed to Socialism and Social Justice; the rights of the proletariat and the farmers being out of question.

It would be pertinent to put forward the various dimensions of Justice as viewed in the modern sense of the term. The traditional concept of Justice was the observance of a lifestyle as of Yudhisthira, while presently, we
have the idea of Social Justice; in which Legal, Political and Socio- Economic notions of Justice comprise a continuum within the general scheme.

On top of these, the concept of Human Rights forms the complete set of Justice. In independent India, the Fundamental Rights as enshrined in the Constitution, the Democratic polity, along with the implementation of the Directive Principles, probably in totality usher in the idea of Social Justice. Nevertheless, we need to scrutinize the functioning of the said rights and principles in order to substantially fathom the status of Justice in India at present. This would in turn aid us to devise suitable mechanisms so as to reach the teeming millions and hence invigorate our society. Theoretically, the term legal justice can broadly be applied in the following two contexts :

(a) Justice according to Law, and
(b) Law according to Justice

Presently, in India, we have legal justice in both these forms. Article 14 of our Constitution proclaiming ‘Equality before Law’ pertains to context (a) whereas Article 17 concerned with the Abolition of Untouchability can be associated with context (b).

However, the implementation of these Articles in reality for the past six decades has been the actual matter of concern. Has the Indian Judiciary, with its pyramidal hierarchy and top heavy status, been able to reach the ordinary masses, especially in the countryside? If yes, then why are there still practically uncountable number of cases pending in the lower judiciary, if not in the State High Courts? Why is there still umpteen number of instances of nepotism and corruption associated with our Judiciary? And why the common man on the street has shivers down his spine if asked to visit the premises of the local court? These are some of the queries which paint the ‘not so august journey’ of our esteemed Judiciary over these years! Now, what could be the reasons behind this sort of dismal situation? May be the ever increasing population, may be the ever decaying value- ystem or may be simply the lack of will of the Indians to fix the system and blame everything on the politicoadministrative set up of the country.

Whatever it is, the flaws need to be plugged soon, if India desires to stand up against the onslaught of globalization since its quality manpower is in great demand in this era of liberalization. And if the common masses are uplifted through a just system of Justice, it would be a perfect icing on the cake!