Does India need judicial reforms? That seems to be the question we are all asking ourselves. And the answer to that question also seems to be the affirmative, no matter who you are asking. It is a fact that is universally agreed upon. But why do you assume this is the case?
India is a beautiful country indeed, and the laws have been working here for a really long time, many decades together in fact. So why is everyone so certain that we need judicial reforms? And much more importantly, what are the judicial reforms we need to incorporate in our system? Let us read and understand about this in detail!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What are judicial reforms?
Judicial reforms are either the complete or the partial change brought about in the legal systems of a country. It is the alterations in the country’s judiciary system. It is usually done as a part of wider reforms for politics or just for legal reforms.
These could be multiple types of alterations.
They could involve codification of law (the process of collecting and rewording the law of a certain area, under any particular jurisdiction, especially in civil law jurisdictions), erasing old laws (like the overturning of the hundred and fifty year old law that made adultery a crime punishable by law), modifying the present laws, or maybe even writing and forming new laws. They could also involve shifting of an inquisitorial system to an adversarial system.
There have been reforms occurring from the ancient medieval period. Right from before the time of Alexander II to this very day. Had there not been judicial reforms, we would still be living in those ages. Living the way we are today, reforms in our judiciary will definitely improve the ease of living for our common man. Judicial reforms are necessary. Why is it necessary? That is described and explained in detail below.
Why does India need judicial reforms?
It is not just India, but every country in the world that will need judicial reforms at some point of time, and it is always better if it is sooner rather than later. This is because every country develops. Every nation, every community, every society, every individual citizen, slowly but surely changes and develops.
This happens in multiple ways, and there is no better or worse. But it is definitely obvious that these changes are happening and we cannot help it. Humans are evolving, as they are meant to. Had they not evolved, we might still be living in rocky caves as the Neanderthal man.
So then we are completely justified at saying that it is a good thing that we are evolving almost on a daily basis. Our actions, our personalities, our behaviours, they are all evolving and developing. The types of crime committed have changed, the attitudes to women have undergone drastic changes, the treatment of individuals, everything.
In such cases, when the ways we have lived have undergone such a large change, then the laws that govern us should also be changed and reformed, should they not?
As of now, the judiciary draws all its power only from the Constitution. However, the system of governance of our country is a democratic one. That indicates that all courts and laws are, or rather, must be drawn on the basis of the faith of the citizens of India.
However, if we have evolved so much, we have definitely begun to put our faith into different laws from the ones that governed our ancestors fifty years ago. If we do not have faith in the legal system that governs us, we will not go to the judicial offices, the Courts, the juries of India or any such legal authority. We will simply take the law into our own hands. And that would most certainly imply the immediate destruction of our country.
India needs a strong and independent judiciary to control, decide, judge and separate the right from wrong. It is essential for the further growth of India. To be able to do that, the judiciary also needs to keep up with the current times of today. Reforming our judicial system will simply benefit us, as long as it is done in the right way. It will make the criminal system work faster, as well as much more efficiently. Hence, we are definitely in need of judicial reforms in India.
What are some of the judicial reforms we should incorporate?
Probably the biggest and most prominent concern for judicial reform in our country is the humongous backlog of cases that the nation is facing. We have all in all one Supreme Court, twenty four High Courts and many smaller subordinate. In spite of this, there is supposed to be logjam of more than two point eight crore cases, in all the courts together. This number was stated by the National Judicial Data Grid as of August, 2018.
This gigantic accumulation of cases is due to a serious lack of judges. There is a famous quote that says “Justice delayed is justice denied.” This was said by William E. Gladstone. There must be a judicial reform that enables there to be a higher number of judges, longer hours maybe and a more secure, unbiased legal system.
Another thing that requires serious judicial reforms is the judicial overreach. The line between judiciary and the legislature is very thin. But it must not be thickened or blurred up in any way. It must most definitely not be crossed.
It is very, very important that we can differentiate between the good, advantageous beneficial judicial system and the overreaching, interfering hands of it which might just prove detrimental to sustaining the required organs of our country.
There should also be measures taken to increase the transparency in our legal systems. There should most definitely be more transparency in our proceedings to avoid the always present biases against the innocent in most cases.
Conclusion
Judicial reforms are required. Not only in India, but rather in every country of the world. Just as humans evolve, so must the laws governing them evolve. Let us make a petition now, to develop. Develop ourselves, develop our legal system, develop our policies and most importantly, to develop our nation.