Law and Justice: As perceived by a freshman at Law School

“A good trial judge needs to have third ear to hear not only what is said but also what is unsaid”.

Law and Justice are Supreme to the importance of any society. Economic development of a country means a lot but if there will not be any justice, fairness and rule of law then there will only be dissatisfaction, in operation and anarchy.

The Indian Constitution guarantees protection of life, property and personal liberty to the people and it also safeguards against!the depreciation of any person, any body or any state. Constitution of India was adopted on 26th January 1950 and it did not disturb the existing structure of courts for dispensation of Justice.The law and Justice!is based!on foundation of several sources like constitution, statutes, case laws and customary laws, behind them are also rules, regulations and bylaws. Judicial decisions of supreme courts and high courts are also important sources of law.

Few local customs and conventions which are not against the principles of morality are taken into account by courts while administering justice.The judicial system of India is headed by the Supreme court followed by High courts for each state and a group of states and which are followed by the hierarchy of subordinate courts such as District courts and then we have Panchayat courts that also function in some states and the various names such as Gram Kachari and panchayat Adalat. Different state laws govern the jurisdiction of!these courts.!Every state!is divided!into judicial districts headed by District and session judge who is the principal civil authority of original jurisdiction.

They can try all offences including those punishable with death or imprisonment of life. The criminal jurisdiction is composed of chief judicial magistrate (CMM) and Judicial Magistrate of 1st and 2nd classes. The Supreme Court of India consists of 34 judges including the Chief Justice of India. The judges of the SC hold office until they reach the age of 65 years for High Court judges, the retirement age is 62 while for subordinate court judges it is 60 years.

The judicial administration of each state or a group of state is headed by High Court. The High court comprises of a chief justice and other judges as the President of India may from time to time appoint. There is uniformity in the structure and all the functions of the subordinate courts throughout the country. The designations of all the courts connote their functions. They deal with disputes of Civil and criminal nature as per powers conferred upon them.!The system of Indian justice is British and friendly to all traces of rustic dispute mechanism that had originally taken route in Bharat or Hindustan and legal system under Indian Constitution has everything to do with language- the English language. Our constitution!is found!on the rule of law and it bodies a principle of institutional morality and a principal that suggest!feasible!limits on power to restrain abuses which occur even in the most compassionate administration of the law but I like that definition in the rule of law which is the briefest namely the rule of law is also the rule of good law a law which a court can characterize as abhorrent, grossly unfair and totally unjust!which!in the hands of a skilled judge!can be!validly invalidate under the broad!limits!of our constitution. There are several reasons for a delayed justice in our country. The number of!judges is woefully short of the!need!as a result of which the number of cases go on piling in various courts.

Many vacancies remain vacant because of bureaucracy and bottlenecks. The judges take their own time in deciding each case because there is no time pressure on them lack of concrete proof on evidence, changes of stances by witnesses, corruption, etc. are some other reasons that cause delay in meting out justice.

There is a huge pendency even in superior courts, viz. Supreme Court and the High Courts. Getting justice is not only!time consuming!but also an expensive affair. The court fee, the advocate’s charges and frequent visits to the courts involve heavy expenditure. There is also inherent exploitation in the system. The advocates deliberately make the cases linger on for years to!make sure!their fee for longer duration. In a country like India where a large section of the population lives in extreme poverty, justice for all is still a dream a dream for many and the state is directive bound under Art 39A to ensure justice to every citizen.

The author Ms. Archi Agarwal is 1st Year Law Student at USLLS, GGSIPU