The Right To Justice In India: Constitutional Foundations, Implementation Challenges, And Inherent Limitations

 KEY TAKEAWAYS 

1. The right to justice in India has penetrated its roots deep in constitutional provisions, particularly Articles 14 and 21, which guarantee equality before the law and protection of life and personal liberty respectively.
2. Having various legal mechanisms and reforms, India's justice system still  faces significant challenges, including a massive backlog of cases and an inadequate judge-to-population ratio.
3. Access to justice is hindered by factors such as lengthy litigation processes, high costs, lack of legal awareness, and social barriers affecting marginalized groups.
4. Proposed improvements include increasing the number of judges, enhancing judicial infrastructure, promoting alternative dispute resolution, and implementing time-bound trials

Right to Justice

One of the crucial aspects of our diverse democracy is access to justice.Justice is a paramount balustrade in driving our society and is constitutionally recognized as a fundamental human right as its major component lies within the concept of Rule of Law.Thus, the administration of justice is a way or a mechanism that ensures that everyone is treated without any differentiation i.e there is no disparity(basis like caste, creed, religion etc should never be considered while making a decision). Aforementioned, Justice is a fundamental component of Rule of Law which is protected within the country’s common law as well as the law relating to the international Human Rights Law

In simplified language access to justice means having convenience while indulging in any legal proceedings or matters so that the justice is served hassle free.One of the Key aspects of this legal domain whilst serving justice is that it should be impartial in every way possible and should be quick.As it is often said “Justice Delayed is Justice Denied”(this does not mean speedy trials should go superficially without entertaining the party’s arguments).Although, there is no specific mention of Right to Justice in our Constitution, but this right is not just a mere legal construct but rather a cornerstone of social equity and dignity of individuals.

While examining the legal domain one may explore multifaceted aspects of the aspects of the right to justice in Indian legislation, i,e while examining its constitutional foundations, statutory provisions, implementation challenges etc.The Constitutional foundations under Article 12 and Article 21 enclose the concept of Right to Justice.(The Indian Constitution, adopted in 1950, lays the groundwork for the right to justice through several key provisions, most notably Articles 14 and 21).The definition is not solely mentioned in these articles but is interpreted with different format of cases, for example if a person is seeking Legal aid services, one may get remedy under Article 39-A too, besides Article 14  and 21.

BROADER VIEW OF ARTICLE 14 AND 21

ARTICLE 14: Equality Before Law 
As Article 14 states, "The State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India." This article lays the very foundation which acts as the bedrock of the right to justice, basically which quashes any part of discriminatory behaviour .This ensures that all the individuals, regardless of their status, are treated equally under the law. In short, there should be no disparity. It prohibits the use of arbitrary actions by the state and mandates that any differential treatment must have a rational basis.
The Supreme Court has interpreted Article 14 expansively, developing the doctrine of reasonable classification. This doctrine allows for differential treatment of different classes of people, provided the classification is based on intelligible differentia and has a rational relation to the object sought to be achieved by the law in question.

Article 21: Protection of Life and Personal Liberty  
Article 21 declares, "No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law." In the initial manner this article was interpreted narrowly, but this article has, over time, expanded its horizons by the means of  judicial interpretation to include a wide array of rights, i.e differently approaching the including the right to access justice.

One of the very important landmark judgments came from a case of Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India (1978), the Supreme Court held that the procedure established by law under Article 21 must be "right, just, and fair" and not arbitrary, fanciful, or oppressive. This interpretation paved the way for reading the right to access justice into Article 21.
Few other yet important nexuses of this right were broadened and considered in case of Anita Kushwaha v. Pushap Sudan, where the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India ruled that the right to justice is a key component of the right promised under Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution.Also, it is rightly said, when there is a right there is duty interwoven to it.

According to Salmond,”no right exists without a corresponding obligation and vice versa".Similarly, Aristotle believed that Justice can never be separated from virtue, which if simplified, means one must always act in a way which is in accordance with the rightful conduct of the prevailing universal law.Another view to this was given by Blackstone, he basically stated Justice is the reservoir containing rights and duties.
There could be numerous facets to justice, the core of it being Article 14 and 21.Besides these, there are different interpretations varying on the basis of different circumstances for instance, in case of Bachan Singh v. the State of Punjab, the golden triangle(when Article 14, 19 and 21 are interpreted to broaden the horizon of rule of law)was emphasised upon.The concept of Golden Triangle emerged in the case Minerva Mills Ltd. v. Union of India, which has been in use to this day.

How does the Justice system work in the Indian terrain as well as other parallel mentioned statutes?
In the Indian Terrain, there are plenty of things that directly or indirectly guarantee Justice.Another prime example as aforesaid could be of  Article 13 which gives the Courts the power to interpret any law and deem it to be unconstitutional.
Another concept of PIL(Public Interest Litigation) could be a considerable step in availing justice.This process of PIL was availed with prolonged durations and with lot of hardships faced by the Judges.Justice P.N bhagwati especially made a huge improvement in this sector.The process of writ jurisdiction in the Apex as well as the High Courts, helps them by listening to cases on behalf of people who are economically suffering or are have any inability to pursue justice.
Access to the component of justice could be achieved by the means of Lok Adalats as well.Lok Adalats are also known as the people's courts.These basically offer justice in the format of ADR i.e Alternative Dispute Resolution Forums.These basically provide an amicable settlement of disputes, which ultimately lowers the burden on the courts.
Few other establishments like Gram Nyayalayas and E-courts, have also proven to be quite helpful in ensuring justice.Gram Nyayalayas are basically established under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008, and provides justice at the grassroot level in villages etc.Whereas, the concept of E-courts is an initiative taken which aims at taking leverage of technology driven models.This eventually helps in haste solutions.Few of  the key features of E-courts could be noted below:
1.  Improved and easy to access digitized records of the cases.
2.  The online portal to access and file for cases by the means of e-filing.
3.  Providing real time status of the case.

Above mentioned procedures require a person to invest their time and money to seek justice.But besides these procedures, to ensure everyone gets justice on time, there are several important measures taken to provide speedy justice.Various bodies and various approaches for different procedures are applied to different categories of cases.Bodies like:
●  National Legal Service Authority (NALSA), which is established under the Legal Services Authorities Act, formulates policies and principles which could make legal services available and implement various legal aid programs.
●  State Legal Service Authority (SLSA)
●  District Legal Service Authority (DLSA)
●  High Court Legal Service Committee
●  Supreme Court Legal Service Committee
This comprehensive and free legal assistance speeds up the court process.Aforementioned, Article 39-A has a constitutional mandate that directs the state to provide free legal aid services to ensure that the opportunities for securing justice is not denied by any means, be it economic reason or any other inability or disability.The good part about these services are that if a person or a victim feels like the appointed counsel is not taking his duties with responsibility, the client has to option to change his advocate mid trials, that too numerous times.
Apart from this, the Constitution provides the overarching framework, there are several statutes that complement and reinforce the right to justice.
a) The Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973 outlines the procedural aspects of criminal justice, including provisions for fair trial, bail, and legal representation.
b) The Civil Procedure Code (CPC), 1908 governs the procedures or the procedural aspects revolving around the process of civil litigation, ensuring fair and equitable resolution of disputes.
c) Acts mentioned in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872: This act regulates the admissibility of evidence in courts(basically the basis of evidence and logicality behind it), which ensures that justice is based on reliable and relevant information.
d) Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987: This act provides the statutory basis for legal aid and awareness programs, crucial for ensuring access to justice for marginalised sections.
e) Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996: It provides for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, making justice more accessible and efficient.
f) Judicial Reforms: Implementing recommendations of various law commissions for systemic reforms in the justice delivery system.
g) Time-Bound Trials: Implementing strict timelines for case disposal, especially in criminal matters.
h) Witness Protection: Strengthening witness protection programs to ensure fair trials and combat the influence of powerful accused.
i) Police Reforms: Implementing long-pending police reforms to improve investigation quality and reduce custodial violations.
j) Leveraging Technology: Expanding the use of video conferencing, online filing, and other technological solutions to improve access and efficiency.

GROUND REALITY OF OUR JUDICIAL VENTURES & THEIR APPROACH

Though all of the above may be quite fancy sounding, the actuality of it is quite brutal.Despite this robust improvement in the legal fraternity, it is trailing drastically.As per the statistics and various reports it has been revealed that as of 2024, about 5.1 crore (51 million) cases are still pending(judicial backlogs), out of which approximately 200000(2 lakh) cases are pending since 30 years or more.Out of these 5.1 crore cases, about 4.5 crores(appox. 87% of it are scheduled in the lower or the district courts).The circumstances faced by the Lower courts is even worse as they lack basic and adequate infrastructure and modern facilities like technologies etc.
Another major problem faced by this population is lack of judges to hear cases.India has one of the worst Judge to population ratio.As per the latest data, every one million people have 20 judges over the to listen to cases i.e 1 Judge over a population of 50,000.This is quite concerning as it does not come close to the recommended or an ideal strength of having delivery of justice.The recommended judges is about 50 over a population of a million.Although, the Indian Judiciary is trying its best to overcome these problems by appointing more judges and the number of courts/tribunals.Still it remains a great challenge in conquering these problems due to the immense size of the population and the twisted(complex) legal system.

After addressing the above mentioned concerning issues, another issue that is faced by the people is that the process of litigation could be prolonging and costs a person a huge amount of fortune(towards counsel fees and other overhead expenses).Along with this, a huge population has believed in a stereotype that if one is indulged in a case or related things they may be drained out completely.This  is quite true too to some extent as few people in this domain who should value the justice system manipulate it and often in corrupt practices that troubles the innocent public.Usually people lack knowledge of the very basic or fundamentals of the law domain,hence they fall for these malpractices.Social stigmas and other social barriers, illiteracy, poverty makes these marginalized sections from accessing justice. Possessing even a little basic knowledge about the remedies or how the proceedings world or what major rights one owns could significantly improve this sector.

HOW OUR JUDICIAL VENTURES & THEIR APPROACH COULD BECOME BETTER

Few important measures could be taken for effective implications.Few of them are listed below:-
1.  To improve the Judiciary’s shortcomings, the judge-to-case ratio has to increase.Creating new positions and filling existing vacancies should be of prime importance.
2.   Increasing Judicial infrastructure is a must in this modern era, use of technological advancements drastically help in saving time and efficient working of the case.
3.   Judicial reforms could be brought by means of  diverging more cases towards Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms such as mediation, arbitration etc.Along with it, it is important to expand this legal knowledge by means of  different initiatives and programmes
4.   Another suggested reform could be brought by implementing a time cap on the cases specifically in criminal cases.
5.    Other subtle yet important reforms could be brought in improving the custodial reforms i.e in long pending police reforms.

SUBJECTED LIMITATIONS

 While this right is crucial in every aspect, it is important to note it is not absolute and there could be few restrictions or limitations that could be imposed during a ongoing trial.These restrictions could be of various types:-

CONCLUSION

As the population of India has been the highest of all time, there are numerous cases which are still pending in the courts due to the excessive amount of case filings and limited work force of the Judicial system.Although, India has shown a commendable improvement in settling matters amounting in speedy trials.It has segregated the courts on different basis to solve issues without waiting long durations.For example setting up of Tribunals, which target specific types of cases ease the burden on on the higher courts.Even after such amount of benefits only seldom people know about their rights and remedies that could be offered to them in this regard.

The right to Justice is a vast, thorough and an evolving concept which is deeply embedded in the constitutional principles and other statutory provisions.The road ahead requires a sincere effort which is solely concentrated to bridge these gaps and promise deserving justice to the needy.As India advances, the numerous challenges would come, but an effective implementation of the right Justice would enhance the stance of our country greatly, ensuring the upholding of Rule of Law, social equality and ultimately the belief of people in the Judiciary.

FAQs:
1.   What constitutional articles primarily support the right to justice in India?
The Indian Constitution contains Articles 14 and 21 which are the primary foundations of the right to justice. Basically, Article 14 guarantees equality before the law and equal protection of the laws.Whereas,  Article 21 protects life and personal liberty. With time the  judicial interpretations have  broadened the interpretation of Article 21 and included the right to access justice. Furthermore, Article 39A directs the state to provide free legal aid to ensure equal opportunities for securing justice.

2.    How many pending cases are there in India's judicial system?
On sites like NJDG , approximately 5.1 crore (51 million) cases are pending in India's judicial system(few of them, about 200,000 are still pending since 30 years now).About 4.5 crore cases (appox. 87%) are jumbled in lower or district courts.This massive backlog is a significant challenge to India's justice system.

3.    What is India's current judge-to-population ratio?
India's current judge-to-population ratio is about 20 judges per million people, or 1 judge per 50,000 people. This is significantly below the recommended ratio of 50 judges per million people. The shortage of judges is a major contributor to case backlogs and delays in the justice system.

4.    What are some alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in India?
Mediation: A neutral third party helps disputants reach a mutually acceptable solution.
Arbitration: Disputes are settled by an arbitrator or panel of arbitrators outside the court system.
Lok Adalats: These "people's courts" offer amicable settlement of disputes, reducing the burden on regular courts.
Gram Nyayalayas: Village courts established to provide justice at the grassroots level. These mechanisms aim to provide faster, less formal, and often more cost-effective ways to resolve disputes.

5.    What is a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)?
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) is a mechanism that enables the courts to listen to the pleas of multiple people at once.The multiple people are represented on behalf of one person. Key features of PIL include:
●    It can be filed by any public-spirited individual, not just the aggrieved party.
●    It often addresses issues of broad public concern. An example of it is M.C Mehta.
●    Courts take a more active role in these cases, sometimes appointing commissions for fact-finding.For example in the case of the great Indian Bustard.