Asks lawmakers to show same spirit in creating infra while making a new law
New Delhi : After CJI T S Thakur recently lamented government’s “inaction” in dealing with the issue of shortages of judges, another Supreme Court judge on Saturday said the lawmakers should exhibit a similar “enthusiasm”, as they do while creating new laws, in providing required infrastructure for disposal of cases under such new laws. Justice Jasti Chelameswar put across these points to Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha while they both were attending the annual ‘Enforcement Day’ event organised by the Enforcement Directorate in the national capital here.
Chelameswar said he was taking up the subject here as there is a “debate” and “accusation” going on in the country on the issue of delays in getting decisions from courts.
He said he was specifically addressing the issue to Sinha as he, as the representative of the government at the event, can “only handle it.”
“The enthusiasm exhibited by the legislature, be it Parliament or state legislature in making new laws, creating new rights and obligations…the same degree of enthusiasm is not exhibited by the government in creating the appropriate infrastructure.
“If you notice the pattern in law, every new law creates necessary obligations and leads to litigation. Litigation requires fora to adjudicate the rights and obligations but every law does not create a new forum,” he said. The apex court judge said that the jurisdiction (of the new created Act) is “dumped” on some existing forum. “Take any decision in any state or Union Territory, the enactment under which the District Judge has the jurisdiction is mind boggling. So long as this situation continues it will be difficult for the district judges (to effectively mete out justice)…there is a limit for any systems’ ability and capacity. “However, brilliant, however hardworking, the individual is, if you ask a judge to handle 30 cases a month the efficiency level would be something. You ask the judge to deal with 300 cases you know what happens and what has happened,” he said hinting that such a situation lead to pile up of cases.
