Case Study Psychology

PSYCHOLOGY WRITE UP REALITY OF SPEEDY JUSTICE IN COURTS IN INDIA

COURSE NAME: COMMUNITY AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CODE:2BL225 SEMESTER:II

SUBMITTED TO: DR NONGTHOMBAM BANGKIM SINGH

SUBMITTED BY AAYUSHEE GAUTAM (16BAL063)

INTRODUCTION “ Our justice system even in grave cases, suffers from slow motion syndrome which is lethal to 'fair trial' whatever the ultimate decision. Speedy justice is a component of social justice  since the community, as a whole, is concerned in the criminal being condignly and finally  punished within a reasonable time and the innocent being absolved from the inordinate ordeal of criminal proceedings." - Justice Krishna Iyer Babu Singh v. State of UP 1

India is a diverse country. The population of India is the 2 nd largest in the world, and that explains the burden on the judiciary. Moreover, the Judiciary of our country is not well equipped. The justice delivery system is on the verge of collapse with more than 30 million cases clogging the system. There are cases that take so much of time that even a generation is too short to get any type of redressal. 2 Even the former CJI T.S.Thakur lamented the bulk of  pending litigation and shortage of judges in the system causing further inefficiency. "...And therefore, it is not only in the name of a litigant or people languishing in jails but also in the name of development of the country, its progress that I beseech you to rise to the occasion and realise that it is not enough to criticise. You cannot shift the entire burden on the  judiciary," the Chief Justice of India.3 It is very important to relate this delay to the effect it has on the common mass. The  psychological effect of the pain and agony of the ongoing pending cases on the people involved is to be noted. Sometimes it even continues over generations, and the justice then served has probably lost its significance till then. It is intrinsically related with the branch of social psychology. Social psychology is about understanding individual behavior in a social context. Baron, Byrne & Suls (1989) define social psychology as 'the scientific field that seeks to understand the nature and causes of individual behavior in social situations ' .It therefore

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Babu Singh v. State of UP  http://www.orfonline.org/research/justice-delayed-is-justice-denied-the-plight-of-indian-poor/ 3  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/an-overworked-chief-justice-ts-thakurbreaks-down-in-front-of-pm-modi/articleshow/51965197.cms 2

looks at human behavior as influenced by other people and the social context in which this occurs. Social psychologists therefore deal with the factors that lead us to behave in a given way in the presence of others, and look at the conditions under which certain behavior/actions and feelings occur. Social psychology is to do with the way these feeli ngs, thoughts, beliefs, intentions and goals are constructed and how such psychological factors, in turn, influence our interactions with others. 4The relation with social psychology is very intricate and is woven into layers. The effect delay has on the minds of the people is cumbersome and cannot  be in any way reversed.

THEORETICAL APPLICATION "Justice delayed is justice denied" The case study is based on the research conducted in the district consumer court in Ahmadabad City. There was very little, or no chaos at al l. It was a very peaceful government office, unlike the ones we imagine in majority. The consumer protection commission and consumer protection forum were in the same building. We also went to watch the  proceedings and came to the conclusion that justice was speedy in the consumer courts, not only on paper but in reality. The minimum time taken in the consumer forum is 1year, whereas the minimum time taken in the consumer dispute redres sal commission is 2 years. Moreover, 95% of the cases are judged in favour of the consumer, which increases their satisfaction level all the more. This is very different from what we see in the civil or criminal courts. Cases take a lot of time to get settled there. Sometimes, the cases even extend for 25 years or more, lessening the interest of the public in getting justice at all. The right to a speedy trial is first mentioned in that landmark document of English law, the Magna Carta. The constitutional philosophy propounded as right to speedy trial has though grown in age by almost two and a half decades, the goal sought to be achieved is yet a far-off peak. It a concept which deals with speedy disposal of cases to make the judiciary more effective and to impart justice as fast as possible. Article 21 declares that “no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to the procedure laid by law.”5

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 http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html   http://www.legalserviceindia.com/article/l297-Right-To-Speedy-Trial.html

The phenomenon in the social psychology can be explained through two social psychology theories- 1) cognitive dissonance theory by festinger in 1950 and 2) social identity theory by Tajfel in 1971.

INFERENCES The two theories mentioned in the previous section helps us guide through the inferences which the delay in justice has on the people. 1) Cognitive dissonance theory Festinger, Schacter and Black brought the idea that when we hold beliefs, attitudes or cognitions which are different, then we experience dissonance –  this is an inconsistency that causes discomfort. Dissonance occurs when there are difficult choices or decisions, or when  people participate in behavior that is contrary to their attitude. Dissonance is thus brought about by effort justification (when aiming to reach a modest goal), induced compliance (when  people are forced to comply contrary to their attitude) and free choice (when weighing up decisions).6 The common people, whether plaintiff or complainant has some or the other beliefs prior to the filing of the case in the court. But, most often, they are faced with a situa tion completely different from what principles they hold. And this situation continues for a long time, sometimes over the course of their whole life. This causes a lot of discomfort and pains them throughout their life. 2) Social identity theory A social identity is the portion of an individual's self-concept derived from perceived membership in a relevant social group. As originally formulated by Henri Tajfel and John Turner in the 1970s and the 1980s, social identity theory introduced the concept of a social identity as a way in which to explain intergroup behavior. 7 The alleged crime doers become out-group for the society. They get secluded, and find no way back into the mainstream society.

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 http://www.simplypsychology.org/social-psychology.html  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_identity_theory

SUBSTANTIATION Justice is the foundation and object of any civiliz ed society. The quest for justice has been an ideal which mankind has been aspiring for generations down the line. Justice is a constitutional mandate.8 The Constitution of India has, in its Preamble, defined and declared the common goal for its citizens as, “to secure to all the citizens of  India, Justice- social, economic and political.” Article 14 guarantees equalit y before the law and the equal  protection of the laws. Article 39A of the Constitution mandates the State to secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice on the basis of equal opportunity and ensure that the same is not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities. All have equal rights, but unfortunately, all cannot enjoy the rights equally. Enforcement of the ri ghts has to be through courts, but the judicial procedure is very complex, costly and tardy, putting the poor persons at a detachment. It is one of the most important duties of a welfare state to  provide judicial and non-judicial dispute-resolution mechanisms to which all citizens have equal access for resolution of their legal disputes and enforcement of their fundamental and legal rights.9 In Sheela Barse v. Union of India court reaf firmed that speedy trial to be fundamental right. Right to speedy trial is a concept gaining recognition and importance day  by day.10 In hussainara khatoon v. State of Bihar which formed the basis of t he concept of the Speedy Trial, it was held that where under trial prisoners have been in jail for duration longer than  prescribed, if convicted, their detention in jail is totally unjustified and in violation to fundamental rights under article 21. Inordinate delays violates articl e 21 of the constitution.11 In the case Katar Singh v. State of Punjab it was declared that right to speedy trial is an essential part of fundamental right to life and liberty. 12 In the case Abdul Rahman Antulay v. R.S. Nayak, the bench declared certain aspects and guidelines re garding the speedy trial and quashing of cases should depend upon nature of the case. The remarks of a seven judges  bench in P.Ramachandra Rao v. State of Karnataka ix are also pertinent here (JT para 20,pp 105-06): 8

Justice S.B. Sinha, Judicial Reform in Justice Delivery System, (2004) 4 SCC (Jour) 35.

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Reform of Procedural Law for Enhancing Timely Justice: Analysis of Section 89 of the CPC http://www.airwebworld.com/articles/index.php?article=1393. 10

Sheela Barse v. Union of India hussainara khatoon v. State of Bihar  12 Katar Singh v. State of Punjab 11

"…The root cause for delay in dispensation of justice in our country is poor judge  population ratio. Law Commission of India in its 120 th report on man power planning in judiciary (July 1987), based on its survey, regretted that in spite of Article 39A added as a major directive principle in the Constitution by 42 nd amendment (1976), obliging the state to secure such operation of legal system as it promotes justice and to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen. Several reorganization proposals in the field of administration of just ice in India have been  basically patch work, ad hoc and unsystematic solutions to the problem…The judge population- ratio in India (based on 1971 census) was only 10.5 judges per million  population ….The Law Commission suggested that India required 107 judges per million of Indian population; however to begin with the judge strength needed to be raised to five – fold. i.e. 50 judges per million populations in a period of five years but in any case not going beyond ten years. Touch of said sarcasm is dif ficult to hide when the Law Commission observed (in its 120 th report, ibid) that adequate reorganization of the Indian judiciary is at the one and at the same time everybody’s concern and therefore nobody’s concern."

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http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/16415/Constitutional+Administrative+Law/The+Right+To+Speedy+Justice+  New+Avtar+Of+Fast+Track+Courts

SUGGESTIONS & INTERVENTIONS There can be various ways to curb this delay in justice. A few interventions are –  1) Setting up of various courts on the lines of fast track courts. 2) Following the idea of separating the consumer court from the trial courts, various other courts can be fully separated to work independently and efficientl y 3) The judge recruitment process be made more flexible and situation friendly to avoid the humongous lag. 4) There be made different courts for new cases, cases pending for more than 5 years, cases pending for more than 10 years, 20 years, 30 years and more than 30 years. This type of a distribution will divide the work and improve efficiency. 5) Cut down the arbitrary holiday schedule of the courts. People have grievances al l through the year, and not on specific days. People need courts all through the year,  just like other institutions as banks. 6) There should be a body to keep a check on the lawyers and their malpracti ces, which causes clog in the deliverance of justice. An example could be that of the intervention strategies deployed in Uganda. Uganda sets a time limit on criminal trials, after which any sentence would be illegal. Laws like the Criminal Procedure Code Act, Trial on Indictments Act, Magistrates’ Courts Act and Evidence Act all provide the basis for the criminal court process. Article 23 (6) of the Constitution provides the time limits for detention of person accused of crime. For cases triable by the High court and subordinate courts, the entire period of detention until commencement of trial is 60 days. For cases triable only by the High court, the time spent in custody before the case is committed to the High Court for trial is limited to 180 days. The import of these provisions is that any detention beyond that period is illegal but also that time spent in custody after a case is committed but in advance of trial is not subject to any legal limits. 14

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 http://www.laspnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=367:a-call-for-concertedstrategic-interventions-in-criminal-justice&catid=89&Itemid=435

CONCLUSION This case study dealt with majorly the dela y in the justice offered by our courts. The model used in this was primary data obtained from district consumer dispute resolution forum and commission, Ahmadabad city. The whole case study centered around the grim consequences of such delay on the psychology of the people. The ways to curb it was also discussed in the end. So we can rightly conclude from the above data that the need for speedy justice i s the need of the hour. And also justice delayed is justice denied. Therefore we must strive for  better disposal ratio of cases in the courts of the country.