- We all have heard innumerable times the exasperated utterings justice delayed is justice denied emphasizing the irrefutable need to ensure timely delivery of justice for the common citizens seeking relief from any injustices meted out. Especially in the context of Indian citizens, the skullduggery of going through the extremely cumbersome processes of obtaining justice for any acts considered as unlawful under the law of the land needs no further elaboration. Such has been the slow pace of justice delivery in the country that most of the victims dread the very thought of approaching the portals of justice for redressal and deliverance.
PC: Dr. Vijay Singh
- Trials and tribulations one encounters during the legal processes are firmly etched in our psyche. Damaging experiences suffered by scores of people in their pursuit of legal remedies would leave the majority of them frustrated but still searching for elusive relief despite expending precious time, money, and every form of resource available. The very prospect of approaching legal assistance and support sends shudders down the spine of ordinary people. Of course, well-heeled and affluents have the wherewithal to sustain the enormously labyrinthine wrangles associated with the justice delivery system and also not flinch from spending mind-boggling monies as well.
- Millions of people without any tangible recourse to resources are languishing as undertrials in our jails speak volumes about the invariable delays in delivering speedy justices which is a fundamental right, no less. Reams and reams have been written on this aspect but there are no visible signs of improvements on the matter though. The reason for the excruciating delay is the sheer lack of judges at all levels right from the trial courts to district courts, to high courts to apex court itself. On the contrary, the hugely reported murder of George Floyd, a black security guard in the USA that triggered the worldwide Black Lives Matter campaign with such passion and vigor, got justice delivered by a Minneapolis court this week within a year of the gruesome episode.
PC: Karthick S
- For the uninitiated, Police officer Derek Chauvin was pronounced guilty of the murder of George Floyd who was killed in May 2020. As can be comprehended, there is an important takeaway for us here as the USA’s justice delivery system worked fast when Chauvin was found guilty by a 12-member jury in less than a year following a trial. The case was aided by indisputably clinching evidence in the form of ubiquitous mobile phones that captured the last moments in Floyd’s life in excruciating detail. The moot point to note here is the justice for the victim and his family was delivered quickly without running from pillar to post.
- No wonder, our citizens have become so cynical and mostly distrust the judicial system with their only hopes clinging to the Supreme Court’s portals which mirror the sorry affairs at the lower courts. Another important aspect of the trial is to note the police response which included no less than a police chief concurring that Chauvin violated protocol. The same cannot be mentioned here as any number of custodial deaths and other police excesses in India goes without getting a conviction of police officials for violating norms. Hopefully, the Indian judicial system ushers in welcome changes to speedily deliver justice as also holding rogue police officials to account.
