DailyPost 2136
EASE OF JUSTICE
Democracy has its own lingo of expressing itself, one comes out of the legal / constitutional fold and other what appeals to the masses. Something that catches their imagination, they can cling on to. Something that promises a better future, even when they are not very optimistic of it happening. For good, bad or ugly, hope has been propelling mankind since times immemorial and will keep on fueling our existence till the end of mankind. Ease of justice is one such hope. Pulling it off out of skewed judicial system, for a variety of reasons, mostly known in the public domain, would be nothing less than heroic.
Can be done as a one-time goal, or would be the convergence of simultaneous activities at different levels and different types, creating this magic called ease of justice. Vision to blueprint to delivery is an arduous route though many want to traverse it the vocal happen way. It just cannot happen. The current judicial crossroads where the country is positioned as of now, is expressed very aptly by CJI, Justice Ramana, ”majority of the people suffer in silence, lacking awareness and necessary means…” From here to ease of justice seems is beyond a war cry. It is moonshot, and we should go for it. But what has been our track record of moonshots in the judicial and general administration of this country.
Tech is touted as transformational, but what investment would it take, to have a world class tech judicial infra, hardware / software/ connectivity and do we have a plan for it. The resistance to change in a large-scale tech adoption and having faith in it, is easier said that done. Are they ready to pick-up hands-on skills or would the tech remain outsourced? A commensurate physical infrastructure would also be required. On the pure professional side, what has been the effort made for the languishing undertrials? Where will the legal aid come from? Which law provides for this treatment? What part of society do they belong to? The sections which have turned out to be bulwark of Indian democracy, making it vibrant in every election. Have even all the directions of the Supreme Court and the tenor to take a liberal approach towards undertrials impacted the lower courts.
The time taken for a case to come up for trail and the time taken for it, from beginning to the end has its own story. It has been variously said, that law will take its own course. So, it does. Have we not charted out a course for law / justice; timelines and quality, with very little scope for discrepancy. How will the modern tech tools enhance the pace of justice delivery for the lower judiciary? Answers will have to be found, and it would be at the confluence of judicial dispensation modalities and processes and the prowess which tech has to deliver at scale and at pace. Every professional needs to have a tech avatar, it is true for judges too. Be the change you want to be. Indian’s ease of life is dependent heavily on it.
EASE OF LIFE IS THE SUM TOTAL OF EASE OF LIVING, EASE OF DOING BUSINESS AND EASE IN GETTING JUSTICE.
Sanjay Sahay