The Indian Judicial system is a gift of the English who ruled India for over 200 years. The Judicial system at that time was a step away from obscurantism. However it must be remembered that when this judicial system was passed for India the population as per the census in 1862 was just 250 million. Now 150 years down the line with the population touching 1.2 billion the system is over burdened and trials are taking decades to get completed. In fact the appeals process is so vitiated that criminals go scot free for decades and it is anybody’s guess whether a criminal will get his just desserts and be punished.

A few examples will suffice. Sanjay Dutt a high flying actor of Mumbai films was convicted by the special court for illegally keeping an AK 47 rifle during the riots in 1992. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, but the sad part is that Sanjay Dutt has gone in appeal to the next court and it is anybody’s guess when his appeal will be heard. In the meantime Dutt is free and enjoying life.

A similar case concerns the BJP’s star campaigner Navjot Singh Sidhu. This man was convicted by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana for manslaughter and sentenced to 3 years in jail. The crime itself took place nearly 20 years back. Sidhu has appealed against the sentence and is on bail and prancing around the national stage with not a wrinkle to his brow.

These are just some sultry example , but the fact is that there are lakhs of cases that are just going on in appeals and so overburdened is the Supreme Court that in many cases the complainants have died without their appeals being heard.

The judiciary is thus in a mess and it will take a herculean effort to clean up the all round stench. Justice delayed is justice denied, I am afraid this dictum as no meaning for Indian Judiciary