In 1991 as a seventeen year old i entered the city courts of Agra for the first time, till then my idea of a court was taken from hindi movies with Muraad as the judge and some side-kick as a well dressed advocate. I was aghast at what i saw in the court of Munsif 1, the judge was shabbily dressed and would have slept anytime had the poor single fan that was trying its best to perform a miracle been a little quicker. The advocates present were chewing gutkha, giggling and treating the court as a dustbin. The bailiff was charging Rs.3 for services rendered , and ,as i understood later, the total of this collection was distributed to all in the hierarchy from Judge Saab downwards.
After my first experience all respect for the judiciary flew out of the window and i understood why middle class individuals shudder at the very thought of entering the Indian court. I jokingly asked my advocate one day as to how many honest judges will be there in Agra( the total number was 31 if i remember correctly) and i was informed that their is just one and the advocate lobby is trying its best to get him transferred ASAP.
My advocate was an expert in under-the -table settlements and as expected he told me that the case will be decided in my favour, with a judgement written by us, signed by His majesty for a payment of Rs.12000.00. I agreed and lo and behold, the learned Judge did just that.
You can understand what respect i had for the community when i came to Delhi in 1997. As far as i was concerned, all judges were corrupt, the system rotten and all Judges should be thrown into the Arabian sea to save the country.
I was in for a shock again. I realised that while most of the judiciary is rotten at the district levels, the High court and the apex court are the saviours of the Indian judicial system. With cases like Jessica Lal, reservations to the creamy layer and many others having been highlighted off late, the faith of the people in the Judicial system has been established again to the level that most of the people now feel that it is the Supreme Court that is running the country with the total failure on part of the Executive and the people who are supposed to make the laws of the land. While I understand that the Judiciary also tends to overdo things at times, Aaamir Khans and Mallika Sherawats of the world will agree, it is still the only system in the three wings of the Constitution in which we have any faith left.
What is needed is some amendments in the draconian Indian Penal Code, swift judicial process and a need for a infrastructure overhaul of the courts. The number of civil suits pending in courts is appalling to say the least and need a quick solution. This may happen only with time, but hopefully for the country will happen sooner than later.
