EDITORIAL

When justice delayed

Posted on September 26, 2010 | View 209 | Comment : 1

Is Also Injustice Delayed 

THE Supreme Courts decision to postpone its verdict on a plea for the Allahabad High Court to not deliver an immediate verdict on the Ayodhya title suits could well be one of those rare cases when justice delayed is not such a bad thing.This,of course,is only a play on words.The judicial verdict on a matter like the Ayodhya dispute would only settle a matter of legal propriety,but could still be considered unjust by large numbers of people.Some of the questions involved in the suits being heard relate to history: when did the idols appear at the site,had the site been a place of continuous worship by Muslims,etc.One party to the case is Lord Ram himself,duly represented by an advocate.The dispute interlaces and juxtaposes faith,unrecorded history and recorded history.Resolving a dispute of this nature is beyond the scope of law.Only democratic political action to strike an acceptable balance between conflicting expectations can offer a lasting solution.


So,a judicial verdict on the dispute is justice only because that is what the courts are supposed to deliver.But the larger injustice that might be visited upon large numbers of innocent people by cynical politicians in the wake of the verdict would be very real,not nominal.Putting off such a verdict with the potential to spawn strife would hold the injustice of undeserved violence in abeyance.This works because the people are willing to wait for a verdict of the court.By delaying a verdict,such patience arising from respect for the judiciary is also being eroded,true.Yet,on balance,on the present occasion,a decision to postpone a verdict on a matter that the Supreme Court had,when referred to it by the Narasimha Rao government,declined to take up would give politics more time to transcend the irrationality that begets violence in the name of faith.But such a decision to postpone the verdict is yet to be taken,and has been slated for 28th.

When the courts are being asked to decide on an essentially non-judiciable matter,and when political practice is yet to evolve to a level of maturity that abjures violence to settle a dispute,let the status quo on the dispute continue,even if by means judicial.

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  • Justice delivery is a joke in India.To maintain the democratic and republican spirit of the Constitution of India, it was the route of reconciliation between the contestants counselled by leaders of both communities and political leaders which was required to settle the dispute instead of going to the court. Going to court in India means to vitiate the relational atmosphere that exists between individuals and groups thereby perpetuating a climate of hatred between original litigants and their supporting groups of small and large sizes. This, defeat the the fundamental aim of the Constitution and the Republic which wanted each citizen to promote 'Fraternity' in the society keeping the dignity of individuals. The inordinate delays experienced throughout Indian courts is adding fuel to ...See More

    Posted by George Varuggheese,President at Godimages Good Governance Society|25 Sep, 2010

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