11:00 – 19:00As of March 2022, over 4.70 Crore cases which include but not limited to Civil Suits, Criminal Proceedings, Family Disputes, Corporate Law Matters, are pending in various courts across India. Out of which approximately 60 Lakh cases are pending across 25 High Courts of the country and over 70,000 in the Supreme Court.
There are many instances of delayed justice, when the judgement when pronounced, the accused is dead. A famous case is of J. Jayalalitha, the case was instituted in 1996-97 and the verdict was delivered in 2017 and by then she was no more. Nirbhaya Case, Ayodhya Verdict, Upahar Cinema Case to quote a few took close to a decade before the final sentence was delivered.
One such matter is the Doshipura Graveyard Case which started in 1878 and is still running. The Shia Community claims this land was given to them by the then Maharaja of Varanasi for religious discourses while the Sunni community claims this to be a graveyard. Needless to mention the hot topic of this year Gyanvapi : a 31-year dispute of 353-year-old shrine and many more.
An unfortunate divorce battle (K vs V – Delhi High Court) lasted for 30 years before the couple were divorced, the case was filed in 1982 and took more than three decades for the judgement to be delivered. The man was 85 yrs. old when he got divorced.
Another issue we face is that of the Undertrials who are languishing in the jails without getting bail, the trial runs for years only to discover that the undertrial is not guilty by then he/she would have lost golden years of his/her life.
The 78th Law commission report and the NCRB statistics are shocking to see that more than 50% of the prisoners in jail are undertrials. In one other statistic reported that out of 280 women prisoners, only 20 were convicted and the others languishing in jail could be innocent. Similar statistics were reported where out of 7200 prisoners in Tihar Jail only 900 were convicted. There are multiple such reports published time and again from various committees along with remedies suggested but in vain the delays run into a spiral and the pain continues. Over 12 Lakhs cases are pending across 700 family courts pan India.
The Bangalore Family Court has more than 9,000 cases pending and at least 700 get added every year. At Sonia and Partners Law Firm, one of the primary goals is to settle the matter as soon as possible. One can login to the E Courts and check that a divorce matter filed from our law firm was resolved in less than 5 days. Similarly, there are many matters related to Divorce, Custody, Maintenance etc… are resolved in few months of filing. Bail matters take no more than few days. The Best Lawyers in Bangalore who have built this skill on resolving the matters quickly have seen their clients extremely satisfied. Not only the clients but the efforts of Adv. Sonia Rajesh and other eminent Lawyers in Bangalore find a lot of appreciation from the Judiciary who help reduce the burden of the cases getting piled up with a focus on quick resolution.
Inordinate delays violets article 21 of the constitution, Right to speedy trial and speedy disposal of cases is getting a lot of attention and importance day by day. Speedy trial is a fundamental right implicit in guarantee of life and personal liberty, one can approach the high court under article 226 and the supreme court of India under article 32 and for the purpose of enforcing such right.
One pertinent concern that crowns the urban India is the stress associated with the court cases and the litigants have complained various aliments not limited to Hypertension, Diabetes, Thyroid, PCOD, Heart Conditions, Migraines etc… to name a few. There have been instances where men have committed suicide unable to bear the pressure of false allegations against them, their parents and siblings being accused with false of Dowry and Domestic Violence.
While there is magnitude of recommendations from various law commission reports and committees, I am of the belief that we lawyers play a vital role too. Its in the best interest of both the parties and the judicial ecosystem that the lawyer extends his/her role beyond a legal consultant and advisor into that of a counsellor and mediator, the lawyers should focus actively on settlements, arbitrations, negotiations and try to expedite the matter as much as possible out of court. There should be special training provided to lawyers not only on skills like writing, drafting documents, setting out logical arguments but also on the art of negotiation and ability to close the matter instead of dragging it. Mediation, Arbitration, Negotiations, Settlements and various types of alternative dispute resolution strategies should be a part of lawyer’s toolkit. The courts then should be approached only to declare the outcome agreed by the parties, the dispute is resolved and a decree from the court is procured.
At Sonia and Partners Law firm, one of the key principles is to expedite the matter as soon as possible and every associate in the team led by Adv. Sonia Rajesh has developed an uncanny art of speedy delivery not only following the protocols of law but also ensuring to work closely withing the judicial ecosystem prioritising the needs of the clients who are in distress. I can vouch that 8 out of 10 cases for sure get fast tracked but there are some cases that are filed by parties purely to settle scores and draw vengeance, such victims of vengeance suffer long pendency of cases and the legal remedy in such case will be to knock the doors of the high court and seek an order for speedy trial.
To know more about the Speedy Trial and how a case can be fast tracked, the art of negotiations and out of court settlement feel free to drop a note at mail@lawersonia.com or call +91 9845944896 for a consultation.
