Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Wednesday, 12 September 2018

Justice delayed is Justice Denied




This saying might have originated in Britain but it seems Chinese are taking it seriously


And the Chinese do not need to debate issues endlessly without reaching any conclusion


They like to move at the WARP speed


Here is the latest example :




Highlights :

·         An internet-based court that runs 24/7

·         internet-related cases will be tried online


·         Courts will stay open perpetually and plaintiffs can file cases anytime.

·         People can "file a case online instead of going to the court with paper-based material


·         a new model of social governance system

·         Citizens can log onto the litigation service platform to file cases


·         Cases would be heard online through video-call

·         12,000 cases were heard and 10,600 were closed during the past year




But , closer at home , it is a very different story , as following news suggests :




 

Highlights :

·         The lower court judge in Hazaribagh put the accused on trial by  pronouncing the order framing the charges against them through a WhatsApp call


·         A bench comprising Justices  S  A  Bobde and  L N Rao , said :

“ We are here on the way of trial being conducted through WhatsApp . This cannot be done . What kind of a trial is this ? Is this a kind of joke ?


·         Senior advocate Vivek Tankha said :

“ The trial was directed to be conducted through video-conferencing …. Video-conferencing connectivity was most of the times very low in Bhopal and Hazaribagh district courts and the April 19 order was pronounced by the trial judge through WhatsApp call “



Apparently , we in India , are stickler for “ following established procedures “ , no matter how much justice gets delayed !


We like to tell our subordinates :

“ Don’t stick out your neck . It will get chopped off, unceremoniously “


We believe in , “ The operation was successful ; it does not matter that the patient died “



How else can we explain the following ?


·         There are 2,76,74,499 cases pending in district and subordinate courts of country


·         Sanctioned strength of these courts is 22,444  [  in June 2018  ]


·         As against this, total working strength is 17,221 judges ( shortfall of 5223 )


Source :








MY  TAKE :


If we want to reduce the average “case disposal time “ from 6 YEARS to 6 MONTHS , we must do better than the Chinese – as follows :


·         Launch online portal……..www.OnlineJustice.gov.in


…..having following features / pages / User Interfaces :


#   Who can register a litigation and how ( detailed form to be filled in )


#   What kind of complaints can be filed ( Eg; property / divorce / fraud / loans etc )


#   Time frame of hearings ( based on backlog at that point )


#   Search / Selection of “ empanelled lawyers “ ( with their fees tariff )


#   Method of conducting “ Online Trial “ ( Audio – Video Conference calls )


#   Online payment of Court Fees / Lawyer’s fees


#   Who can “ watch “ the online trial and how ( Video broadcast ) and when


#   Progress Chart as trial proceeds / Upload – Download of documents


#   Court Room allotted ( by software ) to each litigation


     Not being limited by any “ Physical Constraints “ , it will be possible ( for the
     software ), to open as many “ Virtual / Online “ Court Rooms as required


     Only limitation will be the Number of available Judges at any given time



Let none have doubts about the ability of our Start Ups to design / develop and launch such a portal within 6 months , whose “ Conceptual Frame Work “ could resemble ,


     On Line Jobs Fair   




        And as far as finding 10,000 Judges to conduct “ Online Trials “ from the comfort of
        their homes ( and without imposing any “ Infrastructure Burden “ on the State –
       except providing them with a fast broadband connection ) , I suggest that we rope in
       retired judges on a “ Per Case Retainer “ basis ( paid into their Jan Dhan accounts )



       There must be a “ Bonus cum Penalty “ formula to govern the payments to the Judges ,
       depending upon the “ Actual Time “ taken to dispose off a given case as against the “
      Target Time “ ( to be computed by Artificial Intelligent Software , based on historical
      data being continuously compiled for all the cases , once the portal gets launched )



     I urge Chief Justice Hon Deepak Misraji to treat this email as a PIL and “ direct “ the
     NDA government to initiate action on this suggestion ( I cannot afford a lawyer ! )




Your " Activism " in this matter will go a long way to restore the faith of the ordinary citizens in the judiciary  !





13  Sept  2018

       




13  Sept  2018

 




No comments:

Post a Comment