“Justice delayed is justice denied” is a well know legal maxim,
meaning that if legal redress is available for a party that has suffered some
injury, but is not forthcoming in a timely fashion, it is effectively the same
as having no redress at all. A simple statement but a very deep and profound
one. Our Hon’ble Apex Court had dealt with the aspect of delay in
disposing civil cases and some remedial measures and suggestions to improve the
situation.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Ramrameshwari Devi and ors. V
Nirmala Devi and Ors (2011 AIR SCW 4000) have dealt with the
aspect of delay in disposal of civil cases and some remedial measures and
suggestions to improve the situation. According to the opinion of the Supreme
Court the system can be drastically changed or improved if the following steps
are taken by the trial courts while dealing with the civil trials:
A. Pleadings are foundation of the claims or parties. Civil
litigation is largely based on documents. It is the bounded duty and obligation
of the trial judge to carefully scrutinize, check and verify the pleadings and
the documents filed by the parties. This must be done immediately after civil
suits are filed.
B. The Court should resort to discovery and production of
documents and interrogatories at the earliest according to the object of the
code. If this exercise is carefully carried out, it would focus the
controversies involved in the case and help the court in arriving at truth of
the matter and doing substantial justice.
C. Imposition of actual, realistic or proper costs and or ordering
prosecution would go a long way in controlling the tendency of introducing
false pleadings and forged and fabricated documents by the litigants.
Imposition of heavy costs would also control unnecessary adjournments by the
parties. In appropriate cases the courts may consider ordering prosecution
otherwise it may not be possible to maintain purity and sanctity of judicial proceedings.
D. The Court must adopt realistic and pragmatic approach in
granting mesne profits. The Court must carefully keep in view the ground
realities while granting mesne profits.
E. The Courts should be extremely careful and cautious in granting
ex-parte ad interim injunctions or stay orders. Ordinarily short notice should
be issued to the defendants or respondents and only after hearing concerned
parties appropriate orders should be passed
F. Litigants who obtained ex-parte ad interim injunction on the
strength of false pleading and forged documents should be adequately punished.
No one should be allowed to abuse the process of the court.
G. The principle of restitution be fully applied in a pragmatic
manner I order to do real and substantial justice.
H. Every case emanates from a human or a commercial problem and
the court must take serious endeavor to resolve the problem within the
framework of law and in accordance with the well settled principles of law and
justice.
I. If in a given case, ex parte injunction is granted, then the
said application for grant of injunction should be disposed of on merits, after
hearing both sides as expeditiously as may be possible on a priority basis and
undue adjournments should be avoided.
J. At the time of filing of the plaint, the trial court should
prepare complete schedule and fix dates for all the stage so the suit, right
from filing of the written statement till pronouncement of judgment and courts
should strictly adhere to the said dates and the said time tables as far as
possible. If any interlocutory applications is filed then the same be disposed
of in between the said dates of hearings fixed in the said suit itself so that
the date for the main suit may not be disturbed.
According to the Hon’ble Supreme Court, if the aforesaid steps are
followed the prevailing system of adjudication of civil courts is bound to
improve.
Prepared
by: S. Hemanth
Advocate
at Hemanth
& Associates
0 comments:
Post a Comment