Fait accompli can be created due to lack of judicial action in such cases where immediacy is pre-eminent.
Adds fuel to perception that judicial inaction is due to executive influence
Erodes public trust on apex court
Increases backlogs in Judiciary
What are the possible reasons causing this situation?
CJI has been given the onerous dual charge of heading both the administrative and judicial functions of the court.
Increasing number of cases has made handling both these tasks difficult
Some of the administrative functions carried out by CJI includes:
All service-related matters of the SC’s 2,500 employees
Issue office orders to streamline the registry
Supervise measures for security and infrastructure
Chair committees
Interview candidates for the various courts, etc
Inadequate capabilities & training of Junior officers under CJI who handle these tasks
Possible Solution – CEO
A chief executive officer – an independent professional who is equipped with the day-to-day management of the Court and is not beholden to the judges in any way
CEO will be charged with the entire mission of running the Court, so that the judges can concentrate on adjudication of cases
It will reduce the burden on CJI which will lead to faster resolution of cases.
Challenges ahead
CEO needs to be given adequate operational autonomy to ensure efficiency in management of Court’s administrative functioning
He/she should be answerable to a committee of the Court, comprising judges and bar representatives
Conclusion
Resolution of significant cases in a time-bound manner is crucial for robust functioning of Democracy
Connecting the dots:
Judicial Vacancies in India – Its impact and challenges
Need for digitisation of Judicial process as a part of Judicial reform
