New Delhi: The rising number of frivolous litigations is an area of concern while referring to the well-meaning concept of public interest litigation which turns into personal interest litigation at times, CJI NV Ramana said at the inauguration of the 11th Joint Conference of the Chief Ministers and Chief Justices on Saturday.
“No doubt, PIL has served a lot of public interest. However, it is sometimes being misused to stall projects or pressurize public authorities. These days, PIL has become a tool for those who want to settle political scores or corporate rivalry.” He said
“Realizing the potential for misuse, Courts are now highly cautious in entertaining the same. This conference is an occasion for us to introspect and contemplate solutions. I have been a strong proponent of “Indianisation of the Justice Delivery System”. By Indianisation, I mean increasing accessibility by moulding the system to suit the needs and sensibilities of the Indian population.” He added.
CJI elaborated that it is a multidimensional concept. It calls for inclusivity, providing access to justice, removal of language barriers, reforms in practice and procedure, development of infrastructure, filling up of vacancies, augmenting the strength of the judiciary and so on.
He emphasised that he is a firm belief that judicial infrastructure, both in terms of personnel and physical infrastructure, needs urgent attention. With the expanding economy and growth in population, the caseload is rising alarmingly.
While referring to the burden of courts, he said it also increases when several contempt petitions come before it due to non-implementation of court decisions by the governments.
“The contempt petitions are a direct result of the defiance by the Governments. Deliberate inactions by the Governments, despite judicial pronouncements, are not good for the health of democracy. The judiciary is also confronted with the issue of the executive willingly transferring the burden of decision making to it.” He added.
He emphasised the fact that policymaking is not the judiciary’s domain, but, if a citizen comes to the court with a prayer to address his grievance, the courts cannot say no, and at times, ambiguities in legislations also add to existing legal issues.
“If the legislature passes a law, with clarity of thought, foresight and with people’s welfare in mind, the scope for litigation gets minimized.” He said.
He elaborated that the legislature is expected to solicit the views of the public and debate the bills, clause by clause, threadbare, before enacting a law.
CJI said that when he had expressed concern about the passing of laws without much legislative scrutiny, some quarters had misunderstood his concern on August 15, 2021 and added that let there no doubt about his highest regard for the legislature and the elected representatives.