Where are the judges?
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to set up 22 CBI courts within two months to expedite prosecution in corruption cases. The apex court was unhappy that the government had not heeded its earlier instructions in this regard. The government responded to the scolding by saying it had initiated action to set up more courts. The point, however, is, can it do so merely because the country’s highest court presses a button?
Setting up more courts means expanding judicial infrastructure. It is not a matter of money alone. There have to be more magistrates and judges and public prosecutors. It is a fact that cases have piled up sky high in India because there simply aren’t enough judges, judicial procedures remain cumbersome and antediluvian, and police work is shoddy. Can judicial vacancies be filled at the snap of a finger? If the apex court’s directive is to be upheld, judges will have to be moved from other areas, leaving wide gaps in various places in the judicial system.
The corruption cases looked at by the CBI usually concern ministers and senior officials at the Centre and in the states. Instead of badgering the government to have more CBI courts, if the judiciary threw its weight behind the electoral reforms mooted by the Election Commission to restrain criminal elements from contesting elections, we may be striking at the root of the problem, not merely dissecting the symptoms. Steps, of course, do need to be taken to attract more qualified people to join the bench.
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