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Gujarat: Indian judiciary bursting at seams, says top court judge on pendency of cases

"We can't compare Indian judiciary with the efficiency of say Singapore judiciary or the European Union judiciary or the American system..." said the SC Judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan.

Justice Bhuyan at an event. (Express)

“Every system has got an optimum capacity. The Indian judiciary is no exception. It is bursting at the seams,” said Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday as he referred to the pendency of cases and a possible remedy. The Supreme Court judge also called for the adoption of alternative dispute resolution mode with assisted settlements inside the chambers of lawyers. His remarks came at a valedictory session of an all-India Moot Court competition at Karnavati University in Gandhinagar.

“No system can be fullproof. By and large, the story of Indian judiciary has been a success story…But the general complaint of the people is about the arrears and pendency. Clients face a lot of difficulties…Clients have a right to know within how much time my case or the client’s case will be decided. The system must be able to answer that…May not be with mathematical precision, but certainly we should be able to tell the client that within such and such period, your case will be decided. As a system we are unable to do that. So therefore, there is room for improvement,” Justice Bhuyan said.

He then said, “We can’t compare Indian judiciary with the efficiency of say Singapore judiciary or the European Union judiciary or the American system… Many of the major high courts are grappling with criminal appeals of (year) 2000. We are now in 2024. Twenty-four years down the line, the appeals are now being heard. In fact, since appeals are not being heard, courts are granting interim bail because of the delay in disposal of appeals. Petitions are being filed for remissions,” he further underlined.

In his address, Justice Bhuyan also asked the lawyers’ community to explore a new alternative dispute resolution method beyond Lok Adalats, arbitration, conciliation and mediation at their end. “We all know Lok Adalats, arbitration, conciliation, mediation… these are all there. But there is one more aspect which certainly can be developed and cultivated and that is settlement at the initiative of lawyers. This is something which is different from mediation. Mahatma Gandhi had practiced this…So, this is one area where I think our law schools can concentrate on, the Bar Council can also…This is beyond the four mandated alternative dispute resolution methods. This is what I would term as advocate assisted settlement. It is practiced in the United States. Most cases don’t come to the courts in the United States. They are settled in the chambers of the attorneys. This is one area certainly we can explore,” Justice Bhuyan suggested.

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