‘Inert judiciary strengthens Naxals’

Linking inefficiency and corruption in the judiciary to inordinate delay in disposal of cases, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Saturday said people were losing faith in the system, resulting in civil unrest and Naxalite violence.

Linking inefficiency and corruption in the judiciary to inordinate delay in disposal of cases, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Saturday said people were losing faith in the system, resulting in civil unrest and Naxalite violence.

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Moily was inaugurating a two-day “National Consultation for Strengthening the Judiciary Towards Reducing Pendency and Delays”, where CJI K.G. Balakrishnan, Supreme Court judges and chief justices of various high courts were present.

“There is a feeling among the common citizen, especially the poor, women, the elderly and the weaker sections, that the legal and judicial process is far removed from them,” Moily said.

He said the common man’s “disenchantment” was manifesting itself in “new forms of violence and strife — civil unrest, armed peasant and tribal movements, Naxalite and Maoist rebellions.”

The main reason, said Moily, was the feeling of injustice and alienation that led to violence and a breakdown of civil society “where citizens take the law into their own hands in an effort to secure justice”. “It is our duty to restore faith in the judicial system and in the values of Indian democracy.”

Moily unveiled a vision document to eradicate the arrears of 3 crore cases pending in courts across India and announced the establishment of a National Arrears Grid to identify arrears and formulate strategies for their reduction.

The vision document suggested appointment of 700 more judges in high courts and 15,000 in subordinate courts.