Round The States

New Delhi, 11 April 2007

Justice Delivery System

STATES URGED TO REFORM AND MODERNISE

By Insaf

Strengthening and modernization of the justice delivery system in the States appears to be on the fast track, going by the deliberations last Sunday of a joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts. The Union Ministry of Law and Justice, which initiated a similar conference in March last year, has now taken a further step for expansion of the infrastructure of the Courts, such as buildings, equipment, software knowledge, resources and human resources facility.  The Ministry has reviewed the existing Centrally-sponsored scheme for the development of infrastructure in the judiciary covering the High Courts and subordinate courts. The expenditure on the scheme is shared between the Centre and the States on a 50-50 basis. Nevertheless, all the States are doing precious little for the subordinate judiciary. Shockingly, they are providing less than one per cent of their budgets for it.

In fact, most of the States find the Tenth Plan (2002-07) allocation of Rs.700 crore for judiciary infrastructure wholly inadequate. As per the latest statistics, there are about 2.85 crore pending cases in High Courts and district courts across the country. Consequently, the conference saw the CMs and the CJs demand a speedy improvement in the Judge-Population ratio along with introduction of new technology. Several suggestions were considered for easing the backlog of mounting cases. Of special interest was one favouring introduction of two shifts in the functioning in the existing courts so as to  reduce the burden on resources. Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi impressed all with his latest initiative: His State has already established 50 Evening Courts. What is more, he has finalized plans to establish Technology Courts with facilities for electronic filing system, service of documents and information services.

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Judicial Roadmaps For Relief

Mercifully, most other Chief Ministers have also worked out their respective judicial roadmaps. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, for example, plans to start 50 Fast Track Courts for judicial magistrates in the districts. West Bengal’s Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee proposes to increase the Kolkata High Court’s strength from 50 judges to 58 and establish 200 more magisterial courts. Bhupinder Hooda of Haryana has prepared a ten-year perspective plan to strengthen the judicial system.  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, for his part, welcomed the theme of the Conference, “Administration of Justice on a Fast Track”, as he feels deeply concerned “over the huge pendency and backlog of cases in the courts.” In fact, he hoped that “new initiatives will be taken to provide relief to the litigants”. He was glad that the Chief Justice of India, Justice Balakrishna, who was present, was himself committed to the reform and modernization of the judiciary.

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Splintered Politics In U.P.

The first round of the seven-phase U.P. Assembly poll last week and subsequent political developments clearly provide three main indications. One, that the polity in the State is increasingly getting splintered. Two, the caste-based poll seems to be going in favour of Mayawati-led BSP, even though the exit polls at the end of the first phase for 62 Assembly seats in 13 districts in Bundelkhand and south-west regions have predicted improved performance by the ruling Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh. But this cannot be considered as a trend for the future rounds since the areas where the first phase poll was held are known to be Yadav stronghold. Three, the low turnout in the first phase shows the people, especially in the urban areas, are increasingly getting disinterested in the elections as these have boiled down to choose between different sets of scoundrels. Only 45 per cent of the voters exercised their franchise in the first phase.

An additional factor for the low voter turnout is that all the three leaders, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati and Kalyan Singh, being projected as the Chief Ministerial candidates by their parties, the Samajwadi Party, BSP and the BJP respectively are facing CBI probes for their alleged misdeeds during their earlier stints.  Even though the election is expected to throw up a hung Assembly, it looks as if the country’s most populous and politically crucial State would be left with little choice but to be ruled by one of these three aspirants. Mayawati is likely to improve her position as indicated by the BSP’s recent performances in Uttarakhand, Punjab and Delhi. Meanwhile, the Congress continues to cut a sorry figure, notwithstanding Rahul Gandhi’s heavily-hyped road shows and Sonia Gandhi’s limited forays. It has reaffirmed that it is fighting the poll only to play a post-election role in Ministry-making. It hopes to win more than 50 seats in the 403-member Assembly.

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Jolt To Congress In Delhi Too

The Congress party has received another electoral jolt within weeks. Its string of reverses, which started with the Maharashtra civic poll and went on to defeats in the  Punjab and Uttarakhand Assembly polls, has now ended with a jolt in the elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).  Clearly, the party is losing its grip even on the Union Capital, leading to jitters over the next year’s Assembly poll.  On the other hand, the BJP is on the ascend once more. It wrested the MCD from the Congress with a thumping majority, winning 164 of the 272 ward.s. The Congress, which had annexed three-fourths of the seats in the last MCD poll in 2002, just managed a tally of 67. Mayawati’s BSP has recorded an incredible improvement over its performance in the last election. The party has won 17 seats with a big bang, as against 5 last time.  This is bound to help her in the UP poll where she is likely to get the Congress support if her BSP turns out to be the single largest party.

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Congress Revolt In Arunachal

The Congress has suffered yet another setback after a series of electoral defeats: revolt in Arunachal Pradesh. The party’s long-time Chief Minister who had been at the helm for 23 years, Gegong Apang was forced to resign to be replaced by Dorjee Khandu on Monday.  Apang was leading the party with a comfortable majority of 33 MLAs in the 60-member Assembly. In a quiet and well-organised move Khandu upstaged the veteran leader. He rushed to New Delhi with 23 to 25 Congress MLAs, who threatened the High Command that if Apang was not changed they would leave the party and join hands with the BJP to form a Government under Khandu. AICC General Secretary-incharge of the State, Oscar Fernandes rushed to Itanagar alongwith Dasmunshi, and found that only five to six MLAs supported Apang.

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Gas Cracker Project In Assam

Better late than never. Thanks to the patient perseverance of Assam’s Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, the State will at long last get the massive gas cracker project promised to it at the time of the historic Assam Accord in 1985. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of the Rs.5460-crore project at a new site in Lapetkota near Dibrugarh. Earlier in November 1995, the foundation stone for the project was laid by the then Prime Minister,  Narasimha Rao at Tenghakhat. However, the project could not take off in view of objections by the IAF which has a base nearby. It is now a joint venture project between the Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL), Oil India and the State Government. Gogoi has now promised to have the project completed on a “superfast speed”.  Once complete it would provide massive employment opportunities and improve the State’s economy to a great extent. Importantly, Gogoi has the full backing of Manmohan Singh, who himself represents the State in the Rajya Sabha.

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Quota For Minorities

Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister Karunanidhi has implemented yet another commitment he made in his DMK’s poll manifesto and thereafter in this year’s budget proposals: “Exclusive reservation” for Muslims and Christians in Government services and educational institutions.  The quota distribution in the State out of the 69 per cent reservations the State already has will now be as follows: 30 per cent for the OBCs, 30 per cent for the Minorities Backward Classes (MBCs), 8 per cent for SCs and 1 per cent for STs. The decision has come close on the heels of the Supreme Court’s interim order staying 27 per cent reservation for the OBC students in elite educational institution. Karunanidhi now wants the Centre to muster courage and do whatever it takes to make OBC reservations both legal and constitutional.---INFA

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