Reforms to Improve Justice Delivery System

JUSTICE DELIVERY SYSTEM
The system of justice delivery in a country affects both roles played by an individual – that of a consumer and a citizen. A fair and timely justice system increases the freedom available to an individual, reduces vulnerability to anti-social and secessionist movements, builds up trust in a society and keeps citizens free from the excesses of the legislative and the executive. On the economic front, a good justice system helps enforcement of contracts and reduces uncertainty, thereby reducing transaction costs and cost of capital. The need for a sound justice system therefore, is well established.
The current litigation system of India is not only antique in nature but has become cumbersome and time consuming as well. The backlog of cases is increasing day by day affecting the outcome of various cases. More than two and half crores (As per the Ministry of Law and Justice press release 48,838 cases are pending in Supreme Court, 38,82,074 cases pending in high Court and 2,52,40,185 are pending in subordinate courts as on 31.1.2011) of case are pending in our courts. That means at least five crore people are directly involved in litigation and we have only 12,500 judges at lower court level and about 647 judges at various High Court and 31 judges in Supreme Court of India.
For decades judicial system has been crying for reforms as the cheap and speedy justice has been by and large elusive.   There is a huge pendency of over 2.5 crore cases despite measures to reduce it. Experts have expressed fears that there has been a loss of public confidence in the judiciary, and an increasing resort to lawlessness and violent crime to settle disputes. They feel that public confidence in the judiciary must be restored immediately, in order to arrest and reverse this negative trend.
Over the last five decades various legally constituted/government authorities such as the Law Commission of India, Parliamentary Standing Committees, and other government...