SC judge suggests central assistance to set up special courts

Jaipur, Dec 2 (UNI) Justice K G Balakrishnan of the Supreme Court today advocated Central assistance to the states for setting up special courts to deal with the litigation arising out of Union legislation.

Justice Balakrishnan was delivering the Kapil Deo Agarwal Memorial Oration on 'Judiciary in the 21st Century: Challenges Ahead' here at the Birla auditorium.

He said one of the major reasons for the delay in disposing of petitions and pendency of the cases was the inadequate number of courts.

He said, '' The number of courts in the country has not increased in proportion to the number of litigations and population.'' He suggested creation of 'alternative dispute resolution mechanism' on which settlements could be arrived at through mediation and arbitration.

''Such a step would go a long way in dealing with the pendancy of cases in the courts. In the United States and Canada, only 20-25 per cent cases reach the courts while the rest are addressed through arbitration and mediation,'' he said.

The apex court judge said though India has a judicial system transplanted from a foreign country it has been functioning satisfactorily over the years.

But, he said, the people cannot expect the judiciary to be a panacea for all the maladies afflicting the country.

He said but some times judicial activism has invited flak for the Judiciary for alleged usurping of the powers of the legislature.

He said PILs should be used sparingly as sometimes they are resorted to to settle personal scores.

Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice S N Jha, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, executive chairman of the Rajasthan Legal service and former judge of the Rajasthan High Court Justice M R Calla also spoke on the occasion.

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