By Birbal Jha
Upon justice being inordinately delayed, who should be held accountable and penalized has become relevant moot-point in today’s scenario with a large number of cases pending in different courts of India for decades?
Citizens of the country in the name of law in force are penalized, shamed, looked down and even jailed in the name of evasion, if the tax compliance is even if reasonably delayed. Adherence to the law whatever is of paramount importance to the law-enforcing body.
Moreover, whether there is a delay in legal compliance whatsoever, or even in professional or business or social life, delay in any manner anywhere, one is victimized, most often natural justice delivery system being looked over.
But what about Citizens’ Rights to getting justice on time? Justice delayed is tantamount to justice denied. Often the reports of court cases licking the dust for decades in different parts of the country are time to time reported in media. What do these reports say about?
I have observed that date after date has become a common phenomenon and the perennial system of justice delivery here. Can’t there be a time-bound justice delivery system to enable common people to repose unquestionable and absolute faith in the judicial process in length and breadth of the nation?
The Ayodhya issue of seven decade old case is the most recent one in sight? What message qua judicial system do we want to give to the generation? Why should children inherit litigation? Can we stand up for a time-bound Justice Delivery System?
Ramakant Chaudhary, Social worker said “Indian citizens suffer chronically from delay syndrome caused by the government-run system. In the government hospitals like AIIMS a patient gets surgery date after 6 months or one year that directly violates right to live”.
“Railways has been life-line of the country’s transportation system. Most of the time a bona fide passenger ends up into huge loss owing to missing his appointments or assignments because of awfully late running of trains. If the state is at fault for causing late syndrome, why not tax-payer citizen can clamp compensation on the government-run system”, quipped Chaudhary during an interaction.