Complying with Judicial Orders On Time is Key to Fast Disposal of Cases

MK Faizy National President

When the judiciary is jammed with pending cases, the delivery of justice gets delayed and this situation defeats the very purpose of ensuring fast justice. In addition to various other factors, delay on the part of the government(s) in filing affidavits or counter-affidavits in suits and petitions that seek the opinion and views of the government is the major cause of the accumulation of pending suits in the higher courts in the country. Unfortunately, the state of India, the biggest litigant in all Indian courts, accounts for more than half of all pending litigations. Several politically sensitive and significant cases have been pending in the Supreme Court for years due to the government’s failure to file affidavits. The laxity in responding to court orders for filing affidavits is not just confined to the government, but the public agencies too follow suit of the government in this game. Some of such major petitions, decisions of which are delayed because the government or the public agencies don’t file affidavits or court-ordered investigations are not carried out on time include the petition challenging the Places of Worship Act 1991, probe to be held by Securities and Exchange Board of India into the allegations by Hindenburg Research of stock manipulation by the Adani Group, failure in filing affidavits of compliance by the state governments in the litigation pertaining to providing ration cards to the migrant workers which was ordered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in 2021, etc. Apart from such cases in the apex court, there are several similar cases pending in various High Courts also. It is deplorable that governments which should stand as role model to the citizens are at the forefront of circumventing judicial orders, and this disposition of governments and their agents and agencies should be ended at once to smoothen judicial procedures.