Public Interest Litigation used to settle political scores, stall projects, pressurise public authorities: CJI NV Ramana

Public interest litigation (PIL) petitions are used to settle political scores, stall projects and presssurise public authorities, Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana said on Saturday. .Due to the misuse of PILs, courts are now circumspect to entertain PILs, he said. "Deciding frivolous litigation is also an area of concern. The well meaning concept of public interest litigation is turning into personal interest litigation. PIL is at times misused to stall projects or pressurise public authorities. These days PIL has become a tool for someone who wants to settle a score or a political rivalry. Realising the potential of misused courts are circumspect in entertaining the same," the CJI said.The CJI was speaking at a joint conference of Chief Ministers (CM) and Chief Justices (CJ) of High Courts held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The CJI in his address, also highlighted the issue of pendency of cases."Due to paucity of time, I cannot explain the same in detail. But a keen look at the websites of the courts will give you an idea about the huge workload on judges. The number of cases filed and disposed on each day is unimaginable," said the CJI..Indianisation of Justice Delivery System.Pertinently, the CJI batted for Indianisation of justice delivery system which, according to him, is a multidimensional concept. "By Indianisation, I mean increasing accessibility by moulding the system to suit the needs and sensibilities of the Indian population," the CJI said..He explained the concept of Indianisation as including the following: Inclusivity;Providing access to Justice;Removal of language barriers;Reforms in practice and procedures;Development of Infrastructure;Filing up vacancies; Augmenting the strength of Judiciary and so on..He also expressed his anxiety about the spike in the number of cases due to "expanding economy and growth in population". .National and State Judicial Infrastructure Authorities.Urgent attention shall be given to the judicial infrastructure, the CJI said while highlighting the plight of "lady advocates" and female clients due to shortage of infrastructure. "The environment of some district courts is such, even lady advocates feel apprehensive about entering court rooms, let alone female clients. Courts, being temples of justice, should be welcoming and carry the requisite dignity and aura," the CJI said..He took an opportunity to propose solutions to the problem of judicial infrastructure, which according to him, includes both physical and personnel infrastructure. In order to provide a solution, he is working on National Judicial Infrastructure Authority and the State Judicial Infrastructure Authority in lines with the National Legal Services Authority and State Legal Services Authority, the CJI informed. .He also said that the problem is not due to shortage of funds since the Union Government has been making sufficient budgetary allocations. "The data since the inception of the scheme in 1993-94 suggests that allocated funds remain underutilised due to procedural difficulties.".The CJI also highlighted that it is time "to move on from the present ad-hoc committees to a more streamlined, accountable and organised structure.".He also highlighted that the infrastructure development will be under the supervision of "Special Purpose Vehicles" headed by the Chief Justices of High Courts along with representatives of the Union and State governments. .The CJI also urged the State and Central governments to create more judicial posts in order to ensure that the judge-to-population ratio is comparable to advanced democracies. "As per sanctioned strength, we have just around 20 judges per 10 lakh population, which is alarmingly low," the CJI said. .Time has come to introduce local languages in High Courts, the CJI said. Practice of law before the Constitutional Courts like High Courts and the Supreme Court should be based on one's intelligence and understanding of law and not merely proficiency of language, he added. .[Follow Live reportage of the CJI's speech here]

Public Interest Litigation used to settle political scores, stall projects, pressurise public authorities: CJI NV Ramana

Chaitanya Singh

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