People’s convention on judicial accountability and judicial reforms

Over 200 participants from all over the country participated in a two–day convention in New Delhi on making the judicial system accountable to the people and to discuss how to “reclaim and reinvent” it to serve the needs of the common man. Among the sponsoring organisations which initiated this convention were Committee for Judicial Accountability, Centre for Media Studies, Action Aid, Lok Raj Sangathan, Hazards Centre, Parivartan, National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements, Transparency International and several others. This convention was held at a time when the judiciary is being used ever more often as repressive arm of the state of the big bourgeoisie, to carry out the anti–people agenda of the big corporates and monopolies, Indian and foreign.

It was pointed out during the inaugural session of the convention that the judicial system in India, by its very nature, excludes over 70% of the population who cannot afford to pay lawyers from even trying to get justice through it. Most of those who do approach it to sort out their grievances or who are enmeshed in it on account of being accused of some crime, usually petty, are faced with several years of delays, disillusionment and despair. The procedure of appointing judges, especially to the higher courts is not open to scrutiny and it is practically impossible even to bring charges against judges who openly abuse their powers or are corrupt. But the most despicable aspect of the judiciary is the manner in which it is being used to carry out the unpopular agenda of the ruling class which the other arms of the state, such as the legislature and the executive, are loath to do for fear of popular disapproval. Common people, being stakeholders in the judicial system, have every right to demand that the system actually work to provide justice to them and not to suppress them.

According to a research study presented, the amount collected as bribes in lower courts alone would not be less than 25,000 million Rupees, while the amounts known to be paid by big corporate clients even to settle a single case in their favour could each run into hundreds of millions of Rupees! While it is obvious that the judiciary, as an institution which is supposed to serve the people is not accountable to them in any way, it is certainly very accountable to the super rich whose interests it so loyally serves. The law of contempt has been used to silence all criticism of the actions of courts. A supporter of a people’s movement pointed out that in earlier times peoples’ movements may have tried to use courts to enforce laws promising justice, but today it is the courts which are increasingly used to attack activists of these movements themselves.

While analysing the reasons why the judiciary is coming out so forcefully against the people, the speaker of the Lok Raj Sangathan pointed out that the judiciary was set up by the British to ensure their supremacy in India and to maintain “order” so that colonial plunder could be carried out unhindered. The laws enacted to protect British colonial interests are today being used, for example, to acquire land of poor peasants for setting up Special Economic Zones and the judicial system ensures that order is maintained in the country so that the big corporates, Indian and foreign, can carry on with the plunder of the land, resources and labour which actually belong to the people of this country. “Judicial activism” is a readily available means towards unpopular ends at the disposal of the powers that rule the country. It is necessary to arm people with the idea that justice is their right and the concept of justice inherent in Indian thought needs to be rediscovered and adapted to the needs of our people. Why is it not possible for judges and public officials to be elected by the people in a modern state? The struggle to reclaim the judicial system is part of the struggle of the people for empowerment.

The convention resolved to encourage people’s organizations all over the county to initiate a sustained public campaign to reclaim the judiciary for “we the people” of this country. It exhorted people to ignore the threat of “contempt of court” while exposing the judiciary, and several more meetings in other cities as well as other actions were planned as part of this campaign.