13 Jul 2022: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

B. GS 2 Related

Category: POLITY

1. Slow wheels of Justice

Syllabus: Structure, Organization and Functioning of the Judiciary

Mains: Causes and impacts of high case pendency in the Indian judiciary

Background

• The high level of case pendency in the Indian judiciary.
  • More than four crore cases are pending in the lower courts (District and Taluk Courts) of India.
  • Around 25% of these pending cases, amounting to one crore cases have been pending for over five years.

Factors responsible for the high case pendency:

• The large number of pendency in cases is attributable to both the demand and supply side of the judiciary.
  • On the demand side, the number of cases filed per capita has increased exponentially in recent years.
  • The relatively higher judicial vacancies have resulted in supply constraints of justice delivery. This has been contributing to delaying the cases. Judicial vacancies as a share of sanctioned strength in lower courts are 20% or more in 19 states/UTs. Inconsistent recruitment and apathy towards the appointment process is a major factor contributing to this judicial vacancy. In some states like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Telangana, there is only one judge per one lakh people.

E. Editorials

Category: POLITY

1. A new judicial device for ‘complete justice’

Syllabus: Indian Judicial System

Mains: Discuss the challenges of the judicial system in India.

Context:

The article discusses the powers and challenges of the Judiciary with reference to the recent case of Alt News Co-founder. 

Background:

• In a complaint filed in November 2021 on the accusation of spreading animosity, a court in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri summoned Alt News co-founder Mohammad Zubair.
• Lakhimpur Kheri Police handed Zubair a summons to appear in court shortly after he received an interim bail from the Supreme Court in July 2022 in a case brought against him in Sitapur for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. 
• During the hearing, the UP government argued that Mohammed Zubair is part of a syndicate that aims to destabilize the country and he may be receiving funds from entities inimical to India.
• He was charged under section 295-A of the IPC and section 67 of the IT Act, 2000. 
• It should be noted that the Alt News co-founder will continue to stay in police custody till July 16 in connection with a case against him by the Delhi Police.

Powers of the Supreme Court:

Following are the major powers of the Supreme Court of India:

Apex Court:

• The Supreme Court is the highest appeal court that is also known as the apex court of India and even the last resort, where the citizens of India can seek justice if they are not satisfied with the judgment of the High Court.

Protector of Fundamental Rights:

• The citizens of India, as per Article 32 of the Constitution, can even directly sort for remedy through writs if their fundamental rights are violated.

Original Jurisdiction:

• As per article 131 of the Constitution, the SC functions as original jurisdiction over matters where the disputes are either between the Central government and the state government or between two or more state governments.

Read in detail about the Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in the linked article. 

Appellate Jurisdiction:

• As per articles 132, 133, and 134 of the Constitution, the SC has appellate jurisdiction in matters that are related to civil, criminal, or the Constitution. 

Unique Power:

• Article 142 provides a unique power to the Supreme Court, to do “complete justice” between the parties, where at times law or statute may not provide a remedy. 

• In those situations, the Court can extend itself to put a quietus to a dispute in a manner that would fit the facts of the case.

Challenges before Judiciary:

The issue of Individual liberty:

• The powers of the Supreme Court of India have been discussed above. Despite such powers, whenever the issue of individual liberty comes into question, the top court has shown itself helpless. 

Executive over the Court:

• In many cases, the bail pleas have been rejected repeatedly by different courts. Multiple FIRs are registered in different parts of the state by the Executive to ensure that the dissident is not released from jail.
• The bail jurisprudence of the Court is surpassed by the jail jurisprudence of the Executive. This has become a new normal in the criminal jurisprudence of the country and it poses a great challenge before the judiciary.
• The conventional approach by the Supreme Court will not help in tackling such types of cases.  
• In the case of Mr. Zubair, the contention of the Solicitor General of India was that “any order passed by (the Supreme) Court (in this case) will interdict four judicial orders passed by two courts which have not been challenged”. 
  • It is the Court’s inability to overcome this line of argument by invoking the spirit of Article 142 that led to the ironic predicament of Mr. Zubair being in jail, despite the grant of the ‘interim bail’.

The Principle of rule by law:

• The criminal justice system in the country is now governed by the rule by law and not by the rule of law. 
• The law has now become an effective device in the hands of the government and this operates against the opponents. If the court presumes that the legal system is governed by the principle of rule of law, some unjust consequences come into the picture.

Deconstitutionalism:

• There have been changes in the constitutionalism of the country and this harsh reality cannot be ignored by any Court.
• Even in such difficult circumstances, the constitutional court should be able to have its own mechanism to preserve the constitutionalism of the country.

Examples of certain countries:

• The courts are also responsible for strengthening the democratic processes and commitments. 
• A new doctrine of “unconstitutional affairs of state” has been developed in the Constitutional courts of Columbia and Brazil.
• As the term suggests, an unconstitutional state of affairs is specifically meant for a situation where the violation of rights is not individualized, but structural.
• The unconstitutional state of affairs is a legal ruling that allows the Constitutional Court to acknowledge the failure of both the Legislative and Executive branches of government to enforce public policies against widespread and systemic violation of fundamental rights. 
• Hence, it justifies a judicial intervention in order to combat the structural causes of violation and to put everything back in order with the Constitution.
• It is somewhat similar to the structural injunction in the United States and the practice of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in India.

Way Forward:

Judicial atmosphere:

• A judicial atmosphere should be created that supports the cause of individual liberty. 

Complete Justice:

• Whenever there comes a case that sabotages the goal of constitutional justice, the Supreme Court should use the power of Complete justice under Article 142 of the Constitution.
• The scope of this provision has varied in different cases. In some cases, it was pleaded for its restrictive use and sometimes for its liberal and contextual application.
• In Delhi Development Authority vs Skipper Construction Company (1996), the top court said that the power under Article 142 should remain “undefined and uncatalogued so that it remains elastic enough to be moulded to suit the given situation”.

Conclusion:

• There is a need to evolve an effective jurisprudence of complete justice so that the democratic legacy of the country can be preserved.

Nut Graph

The Supreme Court has extended till further orders the interim bail of Alt news co-founder Mohammed Zubair in a case lodged against him in the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh for allegedly outraging religious sentiments. This reflects on the issue of individual liberty wherein the apex court seems to be helpless. The judiciary is also accountable and responsible for the protection of democratic commitments hence, it should be able to ensure complete justice.

Q1. Consider the following statements:

Q2. Consider the following statements with regards to climate change:

Q3. Consider the following statements with regards to the bail rule in India:

Q4. NASA has described the Webb’s First Deep Field image as the “deepest and sharpest 
_____________ image of the distant universe to date”, it shows a galaxy cluster 
called SMACS0723 — and more.

Q5. With reference to the Indus river system of the following four rivers, three of them 
pour into one of them, which joins the Indus direct. Among the following, which one is 
such river that joins the Indus direct? (UPSC 2021)

I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

1. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. This maxim has become an unfortunate reality in India due to massive pendency of cases at all levels of the judiciary. Critically examine (250 words; 15 marks) (GS Paper 2- Polity)
2. Evaluate the conflict between the new IT Rules and right to free speech, with relevant examples. (250 words; 15 marks)(GS Paper 2- Polity)

Read the previous CNA here.