WHY THERE IS UNDUE DELAY IN DISPOSAL OF CASES IN MAGISTRATES COURTS IN MUMBAI

WHY THERE IS UNDUE DELAY IN DISPOSAL OF CASES IN MAGISTRATES COURTS IN MUMBAI

By:- Aabad Ponda, Advocate Bombay High Court, Practicing on the Criminal Side

Apart from the fact that with the ever increasing population of this country particularly in a metropolis like Mumbai and there is no corresponding increase in infrastructure or appointment of judicial officers, one cannot lose sight of the fact that crime is on the increase and particularly because the public believes that courts cannot cope with the work load that the fear of law has gone away. It would not be wrong if one calls a spade a spade and openly propagates that in the Magistrates courts in Mumbai most of the time the cases are only adjourned and further adjourned giving rise to tareek pe tareek  syndrome that was a popular slogan in a Hindi movie to criticize the functioning lower courts.

As a practicing lawyer, who started his career also from the lower ranks of the Magistrates Courts by conducting numerous matters over the years, to learn the ropes from the grass root stage, it simply pains me as to how the sheer workload and inability on the part of the staff of the Magistrates courts to deal with the boards results in justice being eluded for the needy, old and poor apart from righteous citizens who bolster courage to approach the law to redress their grievances and do not take the law in their hands. I often lament in my mind as to how I feel simply abhorred by the fact that the public seems to lose faith in the system only because the courts cannot cope with the workload. This problem though is of a serious magnitude, like all problems has a solution if one is interested in going to the grass root of the problem and viewing the solution from the perspective of the cause for the public losing faith in the system. I do not wish to simply criticize the system of the functioning of the Magistrates courts as criticism without a solution is not only unhealthy but totally unwarranted. I therefore desire to pen down some of my thoughts to improve the functioning of the Magistrates courts and to install the faith of the public in the judiciary.

 To start with there are far too many cases on the boards on a daily basis in the magistrates courts. The whole day is spent in taking a roll call of cases. Valuable judicial time is thus wasted in performing a drill which is really an administrative function that can easily be performed by the judicial clerks. It is advisable that the judicial clerks take this roll call every day an hour before the magistrate actually presides. This method will ensure that those cases which are not going to proceed on that day are adjourned to a date when they are likely to proceed.The magistrate must start the process of recording evidence the moment he presides and not waste a second in simple roll call work.

It is next important that the mandate of Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code of day to day trial must be scrupulously followed in both letter and spirit. magistrate must fix a schedule for a case the moment it is opened .Both the prosecution and the defense must be strictly put to notice that they are bound to comply with the schedule and if they fail to follow the same they would be responsible solely for the consequences .The whole purpose is to see that at least the first session of the day is devoted to recording of evidence entirely. At least a couple of cases can be taken up every day in the first session, the second session can be reserved for remands, bails, return of property applications and other miscellaneous work .Once this miscellaneous work is over the process of recording evidence can be continued.

The object behind this suggestion is to ensure results being pronounced at the earliest and in a couple of days of the opening of a case so that a signal is sent to the public at large that justice is delivered and a message is conveyed that crime does not pay. Howsoever rich or poor the litigant is, he will begin to respect courts and fear them. The current system of functioning in a random manner without following the above goal oriented approach, I dare say sends just the reverse signal viz that the courts are taken for granted and it takes decades to get justice or to complete a case. With the pronouncement of verdicts at a much quicker speed and sending a clear message that trials once opened will not be adjourned till completion, litigants will realize that they cannot take the courts for granted and will have the fear of the law in them. They  will start thinking and this exercise in self realization is the  most effective teacher which can improve the dishonest thinking in the minds of the general public and develop a sense of honesty for fear of the consequence of being punished .Many cases particularly under the Negotiable Instruments Act will be compounded and settled. It must be remembered that those cases account for the maximum work load in magistrates court and any reduction in those cases will be most welcome.

As far as police cases go, a separate court in each center must be assigned only for under trials. Poverty and lack of the means to obtain bail is one reasons for this phenomenon of under trials languishing in custody. Apart from the above ,another reason is in respect of cases where on account of the seriousness of the charge an accused is denied bail by even superior courts .It is of utmost importance that such persons are tried at the earliest and justice is not delayed in such cases .By delaying the hearing of under trials who are involved in serious offences and are refused bail on this score, the danger of tampering of witnesses and documents increases manifold. This is the worst thing that can happen to our system. Delay in commencing or concluding the cases of such persons also gives such persons fresh ground to apply for bail only because of not organizing the work distribution in the magistrates courts. Consequently the cause of justice is the only casualty which is simply not acceptable.

Hence it is high time that there is a thorough overhauling of the method of distribution of cases in magistrates  courts and handling of cases particularly taking of daily roll call, in those courts so that the same is done with a goal oriented agenda of actually taking up the cases by recording evidence and conducting the same on a day to day basis as per the mandate of Section 309 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This is an urgent need of the hour. There is a dire need to wake up and start ensuring that the Learned Magistrates are sensitized to appreciate how there will be a total collapse in the system unless something is done in the lines of what is stated above at the earliest. At least like-minded persons need to ponder about the problem and provide similar solutions or else the entire justice system is in a serious danger of collapsing and if that happens it is needles to add it will result in the very failure of the rule of law and consequent paralyzing of the system.