RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE COURT NEED TO BE SIMPLIFIED

 RULES AND PROCEDURES OF THE COURT NEED TO BE SIMPLIFIED

 

CJI Hon’ble N V Ramana on 18^th September, 2021 in An event organized by Karnataka State Bar Council on Saturday saw Judges and others pay tribute to Supreme Court Judge, Justice MM Shantanagoudar, who passed away unexpectedly in April this year after prolonged illness  Expressing "deep gratitude" to Justice Shantanagoudar's contribution to Indian Judiciary and the country's jurisprudence, the Chief Justice said, "in losing him the country has lost a common man's Judge. I have personally lost a most cherished friend and a valuable colleague, A fearless, down-to-earth Judge who spoke his mind.

 

Further the CJI marked something which is the need of Indian society i.e simplification of justice delivery system because the rules and practices which we follow in the courts are quite foreign for a segment of citizens and it need to be “INDIANISED”, he explained it by quoting an example- parties from a rural place fighting a family dispute are usually made to feel out of place in the court; they do not understand arguments or pleadings which are mostly in English, a language alien to them.

LET’S UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR CONSTITUTION SAYS ABOUT LANGUAGE:

As we all know, India has a very vast and diverse culture, and a long history as well. For all of these things and the customs that were maintained over the years, today the Indian Constitution recognizes 22, so-called, national languages. All these are in the Eighth schedule of the constitution, which includes two official languages. One must be there for the union, i.e. one is compulsorily English and another one either must be from any of the 22 recognized languages or compulsorily Hindi. The Eighth schedule of the constitution has not specified any time, and more languages may be added to it.

Though regional states have their languages, there are some other languages also which are spoken by a particular section of people. These languages can be called a sub-language of the particular language of a state. So, for people speaking these typical and specific languages, the President has also been empowered under Article 341, to recognize these languages as official languages based on need and usage of such languages.

Further Hon’ble CJI said, noting that these days judgments have become lengthy and it further complicates the position of the litigants.

"For parties to understand the implication of the judgment they are forced to spend more money. Courts need to be litigant-centric as they are the ultimate beneficiaries. The simplification of justice delivery should be our pressing concern. It is crucial to make justice delivery more transparent, accessible and effective," he said.

Justice Ramana said procedural barriers often undermine access to justice.

"A common man while approaching the court should not feel scared of judges and the courts; he should be able to speak the truth. It is the duty of lawyers and judges to create an environment which is comforting for litigants and other stakeholders," he said.

"We must not forget that the focal point of any justice system is the litigant, the justice seeker," he said, adding that "usage of alternative dispute mechanisms such as mediation and conciliation would go a long way in reducing the friction between parties and would save resources. It also reduces the pendency and requirement of having lengthy arguments and judgments."

Conclusively, he focused on the problems in both the processes viz. justice delivery and receiving of justice, due to rules procedures and language which are very traditional/old, mostly adopted from the Mughal era, Britishers etc, and there is a need to modify it, according to Indian Society specifically according to that section of people in India who belong to rural areas or are not conversant in English language, because mostly higher courts proceed in English.

Broadly he quoted “INDIANISATION OF JUDICIARY”.