DNA Edit: Long overdue – Recruitment of 6,000 lower court judges are welcome

When it comes to judicial reform, it has to begin at the bottom, where the vast majority of India's litigants come in search of justice. The move, therefore, of the Union government and the Supreme Court to recruit 6,000 judges for the lower judiciary as a one-time measure, needs to be welcomed. There are a total of over 5,000 vacancies at the all India level and with this one move, the vacancy deficit could be wiped. The route taken would go through the state public service commissions, which may be involved in conducting the test separately for district and subordinate court judges. That would be followed by an all-India merit list based on the proposed central selection mechanism. The move has the backing of the new Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi. 

There are a whopping 2.78 crore cases pending in the lower courts, situated in far flung areas of the country, away from any judicial review, catering to the masses who do not belong either to the rich or the enlightened strata of society. Despite oft-repeated commitment of providing justice for all, in reality, the hiring mechanism at the judicial level has been more than just lax. Inordinate delays in holding regular examination for recruitment of judicial officers for the lower courts have led to huge vacancies and an escalating number of pendencies. Of this number, nearly 9 per cent cases are more than a decade old. 

Even a cursory visit to the lower courts is enough to suggest that there is immediate need to increase bench strengths throughout the country. Many courts are in a dilapidated state and if justice is not provided immediately, then the old adage of 'justice delayed is justice denied', fits like a glove. The good thing that the Supreme Court and the government are on the same page and this move will help bring down pendency, however, small to begin with.