Judicial Inefficiency and Delay

Impediments to Accessing Justice in India

The Indian court system has three levels of power and prestige. As in most countries, the vast majority of cases are litigated in lower district courts. Each of India's twenty-nine states has district courts, with a high court in each state serving as the court of appeal. (In addition, six union territories also have district courts. The government assigns a high court in a nearby state to serve as the court of appeal for each territory.) The highest court in India, the place of last resort for litigants, is the Supreme Court, which is located in the country's capital, New Delhi.

Although both the Supreme Court and the state high courts act as appellate courts, these courts may also be courts of first instance, due to the writ petition feature in India. Ordinary citizens may file petitions or claims in a state high court if the state government has violated a statutorily or constitutionally protected right. Similarly, if the central government has infringed a constitutionally codified, fundamental right of an individual, that person may file a claim in the Supreme Court. Such accessibility has enabled many types of litigants, including social policy activists, to pursue public interest litigation (PIL) claims on such issues as civil rights, civil liberties, the environment, and women's rights.

Millions of cases currently clog all levels of the Indian judiciary. One explanation might be that Indians view the courts with great respect, that is, the massive number of cases is a sign that people believe the courts work. Others believe that the volume of cases has resulted from openness, especially in the upper courts, to accepting writ petitions. Those who closely study Indian court dockets know, however, that that the real reason for delay is that so few cases are resolved by the courts. Existing empirical research indicates that on a per capita basis, India has one of the lowest cases-decided rates in the world.

...