Justice B.R. Gavai, standing before the people of Manipur yesterday, spoke with the reassuring tone of a Supreme Court judge, “Have faith in our Constitution. The Constitution will ensure peace returns fully to Manipur one day.”
Ah, the dreamlike quality of those words: One day!
Not soon, not tomorrow, not next year—just one day! Somewhere in the distant, vague, foggy horizon, beyond the reach of calendars and clocks, justice will finally stumble its way into Manipur. Perhaps riding a limping mule, guided by a blindfolded lady with rusted scales in one hand and a broken sword in the other.
But does the good judge not know that justice delayed is justice denied?
Imagine a man wrongfully imprisoned for thirty years, finally exonerated. “Justice has been served!” the system proclaims. But served to whom? The man whose youth was stolen? The family who waited? Or is it justice for the perpetrator who lived freely while his victim suffered?
This is the dance of delay where justice is like a dish, but in our country, it is served cold, stale, and only after the customer has lost all appetite.
In the meantime, the guilty feast on the delay.
Their wealth grows, their power expands, and their influence deepens, while the poor petitioner grows weary, his files gathering dust in some forgotten court locker.
Yet, while the number of MPs in our new, grand Parliament will grow, the number of judges remains painfully inadequate. While politicians keep increasing their salaries, our judiciary remains starved of resources.
One day we will have more judges, they say.
One day we will clear the backlog of cases.
One day justice will be swift.
But today? Today, we wait.
And what a wait it is! Ask the poor farmer who fights a land dispute for three generations. By the time a judgment arrives, his grandchildren have moved to the city, the land sold, the case irrelevant. Ask the widow whose husband was lynched. By the time the verdict is given, her hair is white, her tears dry, and the guilty man’s son is now a minister.
The courts are not temples of justice but waiting rooms of despair, in which obsolete old fans noisily twirl, while the faith of people is tested, patience is broken, and verdicts are written in the same slow motion of the ancient ceiling fans.
Justice is like a train in India. The ticket is bought today, the journey begins much later, and by the time you reach your destination, you’ve forgotten why you even boarded the train in the first place!
Yes, one day Manipur will find peace.
Yes, one day the courts will be efficient.
Yes, one day the Constitution will be fully upheld.
But for those suffering today, that one day is a lifetime too late…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
So well described Bob. That’s indeed is our legacy man….delay, delay, delay, and ultimately comes denial through our jurisprudence by Honourable judges, with no honour for the denied victims in mera Bharat mahan in general and Poor Manipur victims in particular. Only Gods judgement is awaited soon when poor and meek will be honoured and the so called worldly honoured will be put to test.
So true
So informative……
Justice delayed is justice denied” is not just a phrase; it is a reality that affects countless individuals and undermines the integrity of the legal system. Addressing judicial delays requires a multifaceted approach, involving judicial reforms, efficient case management, and the adoption of technology. By ensuring that justice is delivered promptly, we can uphold the principles of fairness and equity that are fundamental to a just society. The pursuit of timely justice is not just a legal imperative but a moral one, crucial for maintaining public trust and the rule of law.