Authored By: Geetanjali Dikshit
Modi Law College, Kota
Abstract
Currently, the Indian judicial system is facing a significant crisis of case pendency, with over 5 crore cases awaiting adjudication across various levels of courts. Judicial delay has been criticised for a long time for violating fundamental rights, public confidence, and weakening the rule of law. In recent years, as we have seen, technology has advanced, helping us harness potential reformative forces to normalize the judicial process, reduce administrative hurdles, and enhance access to justice. In this article, it has been critically examined whether the technological inventions, like e-court, AI, virtual hearing, and digital case handling, can really help to reduce India’s judicial backlogs. Evaluating case laws, real-time data, and ongoing reforms would help to argue that technology is good at dealing with justice or not.
Introduction
Justice is a cornerstone in our country, which shows the democratic society of a state. In the Constitution of India, the legal system in the state where justice means not only to deliver but to deliver it promptly. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, a right which has been repeatedly interpreted to provide the right to speedy justice by the Supreme Court.
Still, there a constitutional promises, but India is facing a massive burden of cases with delays in different courts. Civil cases are still taking decades to conclude, and often are still under trial, prisoner which spend more time in jail, who receive minimum punishment prescribed for their alleged offences. Sometimes our mind often raises questions that, What is the value of a legal remedy if it arrives after some harm which has already been suffered?
This kind of wide gap between constitutional promises and ground reality is different, which forced the jurist and policymakers to explore more unconventional solutions to cope with it. All after this technology has emerged, which is the most discussed and debated option.
What is Judicial Backlog?
Judicial Backlog refers to the accumulation of cases that remain pending, which are beyond a prescribed time frame and a reasonable time in the court. In simple terms, it signifies the difference between the number of cases instituted and the number of cases that have been disposed of within the given time frame. When the court becomes unable to deal with new cases, it leads to an increase in the pendency of cases and also leads to delays.
In India, the judicial backlog is not limited to any single court but is extended to different courts, like the District Court, High Court, and Supreme Court, which are affecting civil, criminal, as well as commercial and constitutional cases. The backlog includes many cases, including matters pending for judgments, awaiting admission, and even those where judgments are reserved but not delivered.
The Current Magnitude of Justice Delay in India
The National Judicial Data Grid Has shown the picture of case pendency, which shows data of judicial backlog in India. The following are the data from different courts:
Supreme Court: Over eighty thousand pending cases, which also includes cases awaiting admission.
High Court: approximately sixty lakh pending cases.
District and Subordinate Courts: Around 4.5 crore pending cases, which represent the bulk of the case backlog.
These data show a growing disparity between case filing and to resulting judgement, which increases the delay in justice.
Is Blacklog merely a statistical problem or not?
The answer to this question is NO. Judicial backlog is a symptom that it is deeply involved in structural issues, which are judicial vacancies, excessive adjournment, outdated administrative practices, and inadequate use of technology. More importantly, judicial backlog directly affects litigants, which includes rights, public trust in the institution, and overall credibility of the justice delivery system.
Justice Delayed as a Constitutional Concern
The Indian Legal system has recognised speedy justice as a fundamental right under Article 21 Of the Indian Constitution, which grants the right to life and personal liberty. The Supreme Court of India had interpreted the right to speedy trial under this article. The Directive Principle of State has also emphasised free and fair trial and equal justice to its citizens. Many legal aid law commissions have also placed emphasis on the urgent need to reduce delays in justice. Some of the initiatives to reduce such delays include fast-track courts, lok adalats, and e-courts.
Some cases have addressed this, which are as follows:
Hussainara Khatoon v. State of Bihar
This was a landmark case that established the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This case was filed as a PIL, and it was revealed that many of the people are under-trial prisoners in Bihar who are kept for a year without any trial, some are kept for longer than the punishment for their alleged crime. In this case, the court held that such delays are unjust and unconstitutional and also recognised the right to free legal aid for poor accused persons.
P. Ramachandra Rao v. State of Karnataka
In this case, the Supreme Court of India reaffirmed that a speedy trial is important, but it held that a fixed time limit can’t be applied to every case. Where the Court had explained that some of the cases are complex and require more time to handle, so each case must be judged by its own facts.
Salem Advocate Bar Association v. Union of India
The Supreme Court had highlighted the need for procedural reform to reduce such delays in the court. It had stressed that the unnecessary adjournment should be avoided, and the procedural things must be done on time for a speedy trial, and not to delay them.
Imtiyaz Ahmad v. State of Uttar Pradesh
In this case, the court had expressed a serious concern about the rising case pendency in Indian Courts. It had recommended structural reform, including better judicial management, and planning to ensure the fastest trial of cases and improve the efficiency of the judicial system.
The Emerging Judicial Tools as Technology
The new emerging tools in the judicial system are reshaping the entire judicial efficiency.. It is introducing various tools that are enhancing the efficiency, transparency, and access to justice. The tools include e-Courts, e-filing, digital case records, etc. Virtual court hearing was also widely adopted during the pandemic era of COVID-19, which made legal proceedings more accessible and cost-effective for every lawyer and litigant. Let us describe these tools in brief.
E-Courts Project
In 2013, the Government of India launched the E-Court Project, which was an important initiative in digital transformation. In this project, the aim is to integrate information that could be accessed by technology across all levels of the judiciary, which would enhance case management and improve access to justice. The tools that come under this project are E-Filling, Case Management System, and Virtual Hearing.
Online Access to Case Information
Transparency is a cornerstone of a justice system. Through the help of technology, it enabled access to case information, which allows the public to view court statuses, judgments, and schedules online. Where many courts have established their own websites where users can easily access easily to find information.
Digital Legal Aid Service
Another milestone in technology is the digital legal aid service. Through these organisations, it gives legal aid, information, and support to every marginalised community.
AI
Another emerging technology is AI, which is helping in legal research, analysing different cases, making valid precedents and insights, which is playing a crucial role in the legal system.
Limitations and Risk of Technology Dependence
Although we have seen its benefits, there are also challenges. Which are as follows;
Data Privacy and Security
Reliance on technology is also concerning due to the fear of data privacy and security. Sensitive information about cases is often stored online, which has led to cyberattacks and unauthorised use of information.
Digital Divide
Although the emergence of technology is advanced, the importance of the digital divide persists in India. Everyone living in rural areas lacks access to the internet and digital devices.
Emerging changes
The traditional nature of the judicial system had led to resistance to change towards new technology. Judges and court staff may require training on technology to navigate the digital system. It is building a culture of adaptability and openness within the judiciary for successful implementation.
Conclusion
Emerging technology is transforming the indian judicial system by streamlining court procedures and improving access to justice. Initiatives have been taken in the form of E-Court Projects, online case information, etc. However, there are various kinds of difficulties that are often faced by various people, such as digital privacy, scams, cyberattack threats, etc. Overall, technology has become an essential part of reforming the judicial system of India. This is offering a promise of faster, more accessible, equal, and fair justice.
