Has Supreme Court Opened Doors Of Human Rights?
We know that Indian democracy is the largest democracy in the world, but when it comes to upholding human rights, it is lagging behind as regards the Universal declaration of human rights that set out fundamental rights to be universally protected. Now, the question arises: who will uphold these rights? In the legal dimension, it is judicial institutions who must take the responsibility of upholding rights. In reality, pending cases in Indian courts are worrying for impoverished people who have been languishing in jails.
This discussion should come to light because, in a recent judgement, the Supreme Court of India urged all judges in the country “to protect the rights of ordinary people to bail.” We know that there has been criticism over pending cases in Indian courts. Even the SC has underscored this, highlighting the 91,568 bail pleas and the 1.96 bail applications pending in the High Courts. Its judgement also streamlined the discussion of prison reforms in the country. According to the data, the number of people lodged in Indian prisons as undertrials increased rapidly between 2001 to 2019. At the end of 2019, 3.28 lakh prison inmates were undergoing trial and also many jails are overcrowded.
What The Constitution Says
Article 39 provides free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of society and ensures justice for all. On the basis of this article, the Parliament has enacted the Legal services authority act in 1987, which later led to the creation NALSA(National legal service authority) to monitor legal aid programmes. The ground reality, however, is indicated by the recently released NCRB data showing that there is a high share of undertrials from marginalised communities (Dalits, Tribals and Muslims).
On the other hand, the Supreme Court in its judgement pronounced that “deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many.” It expressed concern “only for one day”, but members from the aforesaid marginalised communities have been languishing in the jails for years. Always in the public domain suggestions remain but none dares to implement completely.
Need Of The Hour
If this largest democracy in the world is to be ever-celebrated, then it is necessary that the organs of the State reckon the importance of reforms. Firstly, in the judiciary, as suggested by the Economic Survey 2019, the number of holidays of courts must be reduced and more judges must be appointed to enhance efficiency in the judicial system.
Secondly, at the grassroots level, as mandated in the NALSA’s (National legal service authority) guidelines, legal awareness camps in rural areas must be organised. It is essential because more than 90% of undertrials were not graduates and about 28% were illiterate and this approach also resembles NITI Aayog’s Bottom-Up approach. Finally, Proposed All India judicial service (AIJS) could also help the expedition of pending cases especially in the subordinate courts.