Chief Justice of India SH Kapadia has presented a scathing report on the state of the judiciary's infrastructure and the conditions under which judges have to work, especially in the lower courts. While painting a vivid though gloomy picture of the appalling conditions that prevail and which are rarely talked about in the context of the justice delivery system, Mr Kapadia has pinned the blame on the "lackadaisical approach" of the Government which, according to him, has failed, and abysmally so, in providing proper working infrastructure to the subordinate judiciary. In many places, the lower courts function from rented, ramshackle premises. Basic facilities are absent in most of them; staff are cramped for space; and, as any litigant would testify, record-keeping is shockingly poor largely because even the most primitive archival system is absent. It is possible that computers have been purchased and installed as part of the Government's effort to 'modernise' the judicial infrastructure, but that is of little or no consequence. As Mr Kapadia points out, "Out of 2,903 subordinate court complexes, only 562 have got generators. Against the working strength of 13,996 judicial officers, inverters were available only with 693 officers at their residences." It is indeed a sad state of affairs if cases are being heard in courtrooms without power. How are records of hearings being maintained? How accurate are those? It would be easy to blame the lower judiciary for inordinate delays in settling cases and for not doing enough to clear the backlog at the bottom of the pyramid. But we should also ask: Is the Government serious about improving the infrastructure and modernising our courts? The Government's attitude is best reflected in the fact that of the funds required to provide basic working facilities for judges, less than half has been sanctioned. This is not money saved, but justice denied.
For all their tall talk, had successive Governments at the Centre been truly interested in improving the judicial infrastructure and thus making the justice delivery system more responsive — as well as accountable — then the situation would have been vastly different. In fact, the Government's attitude is not going to change because politicians and their babus have scant regard and even lesser respect for the judiciary. Mr Kapadia has suggested that perhaps the judiciary can raise its own resources by using fees and fines for creating infrastructure and improving the working conditions in courts. Given the Government's reluctance to fulfil its responsibility, this option is worth exploring. Indeed, it would be a good idea to impose and increase fines for frivolous litigation and mark up fees for cases filed by the Government. That should wake up people in right places.
