CORRUPTION CATALOGUE JUDICIARY

One of the most frequently used words in India, corruption signifies a range
of things. In 2005, Transparency International and Delhi-based Centre for
Media Studies (CMS), a research firm, undertook the India Corruption Study.
The survey covered 14,405 respondents over 20 states and included interviews
with service providers and users (of these services). The results, published
the same year, said Indians pay out around Rs21,068 crore as bribes while
availing one of 11 public services. While some of the results of the survey
were published, many of the details were not. The study, however, remains
the most recent and the most comprehensive report on corruption in India.
Apart from calculating the extent of corruption, in Rs crore, it explains
the mechanics of it.

Over the week, Mint is presenting details of the CMS study. On Monday, we
featured India's public distribution system. On Tuesday, we did the
education system. Today, we look at the judicial system. Readers are welcome
to send in their comments to feedback@livemint.com.

To see the series so far, go to www.livemint.com/corruption.htm Why People
Pay Bribes 1. Favourable judgement Recent media reports have shown that it
is possible to secure a favourable judgement in a lower court by bribing the
judiciary, although the situation radically improves when it comes to the
higher courts.

2. Speeding up judgement There is a huge backlog of cases in Indian courts,
which results in delayed judgements. It is quite common for a case to drag
on for years.People often have to pay bribes to speed up the process.

3. Other activities A lot of non-case related work also falls under the
purview of the judiciary. This includes the issual of affidavits,
registrations, etc. People often pay bribes to get this work done by a
middleman.

4. Obtaining bail The judge has a lot of discretion in issuing bail; the
guidelines governing this are fairly basic.
It is possible to secure bail by influencing the judge in some cases.

5. Manipulating witnesses As some recent high-profile cases have shown,
witnesses are manipulated through money or force into giving favourable
testimony.

Inaccessibility 1 The judicial system is highly dilatory, expensive and
beyond the reach of the common man.

Ordinary citizens find it hard to seek redress, as litigation is expensive
and extra money is often required to oil the wheels of the system.
Misuse of power 2 There are instances of metropolitan magistrates issuing
bailable arrest warrants against individuals of whose identities they have
no idea, in return for an inducement.

Some time back, a metropolitan magistrate in Ahmedabad issued bailable
arrest warrants against the President of India in return for an inducement
of Rs40,000.

In some cases, judges offer a favour in exchange for personal gains or
favours. In Rajasthan, some time back, there were reports of a judge who
offered judicial favours in exchange for sexual favours from a litigant.
Some of these instances have been reported by the media, but no action has
resulted.

Today, under existing rules, any person making any allegation of corruption
or other things against a sitting judge can be charged and punished for
contempt of court. This is a deterrent against more such instances coming to
light.

A difficult impeachment process 3 The Supreme Court of India has ruled that
no first information report (FIR) can be registered against a judge, nor a
criminal investigation initiated without prior approval of the Chief Justice
of the Supreme Court. Once appointed, a judge of the high court or Supreme
Court cannot be sacked except by a complicated impeachment process, done by
members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the two houses of Indian
Parliament. Their immunity is reinforced by the fact that the procedure
isn't just cumbersome, but also susceptible to political influence. In the
1990s, when the Congress was in power, a motion seeking to impeach Justice
V. Ramaswami could not be passed by Parliament as Congress members abstained
from voting. There has been no other attempt at impeachment in India.

Slow and inefficient 4 Many cases drag on for years. An oft cited excuse is
the lack of staff, but the judicial process itself is unnecessarily
complicated and inefficient, making cases drag on for a long time. Bribes
are sometimes sought to advance the judgement or bend it. At last count,
some 26 million cases were pending in Indian courts.

Suggested Solutions
1. Use of technology -A review of how court records are
handled and the introduction of modern tracking methods can eliminate much
of petty corruption existing in lower courts Websites and CDs can explain
basic law to laymen Court files can be computerized Video recordings of
court proceedings should be maintained
2. Reduce the gap -Provide alternative methods of dispute redressal to lighten burden on courts Increase number of judicial officers and number of fasttrack courts Create a vigilance cell for redressal of public grievances
3. Making the judiciary accountable -Judges must be subject to judicial review Judges must follow a code of conduct Bar associations must act against corrupt members A public body must keep an eye on the judicial system An Indian judicial service must be created The
National Judicial Commission should have powers to fire judges Judges should
declare their assets and those of their family

 Percentage of households who dealt with judiciary in past year

13.37% No. of judges per lakh population
2.31 Delhi Gujarat 1.50 1.39 Himachal Pradesh Karnataka 1.34 Rajasthan 1.22
Bihar & Jharkhand 1.21 Kerala 1.17 Tamil Nadu 1.17 Punjab & Haryana 1.16
1.13 Orissa MP & Chhattisgarh 1.13 Andhra Pradesh 0.97 Assam 0.93 0.85
Maharashtra UP & Uttarakhand 0.78 West Bengal 0.72 What do people go to
courts for 26% Criminal cases 74% Civil cases More than half (57%) of those
ever going to courts had gone there at least four times in the past one year
Reasons for repeated visits to court Hearing postponed 36% Need to complete
more formalities 22% Opposition sought more time 13% 13% Judge didn't turn
up Lawyer didn't turn up 8% 6% Witness didn't turn up 1% Others Perception
about corruption Is there corruption in judiciary ?

79% Yes 2%* 13% Can't say 6% No Level of commitment Is the judiciary
committed to fighting corruption?

58% No 5%* 21% 16% Can't say Yes Quality of service received 62% Poor 14%
24% Good OK Alternative avenues used to get work done Paying a bribe 86% 32%
Putting extra efforts 15% Influence through relatives/friends 10%
Approaching middlemen 8% Influencing bureaucrats/officials 5% Political
influence 2% Judicial Influence *No response Total value of corruption in
judiciary 2,630 Rs crore/year Courting Corruption The sheer number of cases
pending in the Indian judicial system (26 million at last count) says it
all. Given that, and the number of judges across various states (per lakh of
population), the system is rife with delays and inefficiencies -ideal
conditions for middlemen to step in.

In the year preceding the survey, 59% of respondents paid bribes to lawyers,
5% to judges and 30% to court officials.

Publication : Livemint; Section: Economincs; Pg : 11; Date : 2/5/07