The debate is not if the British plundered and left India
and many other colonies in disarray. While one might say that the colonial rule
did erode some of the cultural and material wealth from India, it did leave
behind some positives which we practice even today. Apart from unifying India
from a cluster of 500 odd princely states; railways, post & telegraph,
education, law & judiciary, democratic constitution, unified armed forces
are just some of the many. The only seeming problem is that while some of the
colonial blessings have changed to keep in sync with time, we are refusing to change
some for a post- Independence India of today.
My last blog spoke on some colonial legacy which builds the
divide between the armed forces compared to the paramilitary and the police. Hot
on the heels of that I have come across another set of professionals refusing
to give up their colonial habits- this time it was the lawyers. The Bar Council
of India (BCI) rejected the suggestion by the former Chief Justice of India,
Mr. RM Lodha to run courts for 365 days to clear the huge backlog of cases and
provide speedy justice.
The argument presented by Justice Lodha is impressive; if
healthcare can be offered 365 days; why not justice? What is amusing is the
basis the BCI has rejected the suggestion- “It is not possible for advocates to
attend court for all 365 days. It is neither practical nor feasible. Without
rest, advocates cannot work throughout the year,” said BCI chairman Biri Singh
Sinsinwar.
Picture this; a corporate works a total of about 230 days
(considering Saturday-Sunday as off) across the year, the postal employees and
government offices work for 280, the armed forces, healthcare and police; well
virtually 365 days. Even teachers are working for about 250 days. So why should
the judiciary work only 210 days (190 if it’s the Supreme Court), when the backlog
of pending cases is so huge?
The reason I believe is the fact that procedures and
duration of the courts is still the colonial legacy. In colonial times, Indians were allowed to practice
as layers, but majority of the Judges were British. Holidays, summer breaks
etc. were all a part of their life style as there was no immediate need to
resolve cases. Majority were cases against Indians and I don’t think it
mattered much to them if the system took its own time to offer justice. The
presence of so many summer retreats across the country is just enough a case to
indicate that the high rankers in the British administration took vacations
really serious.
But why does the law fraternity still desire to enjoy that
life style? Well technically, who will want to give up on official 4 weeks of summer
and winter vacation granted as a part of legal procedures as designed by the system?
Anyways, I did not want to get too upset on the working days
issue as I’m sure the privileged are never going to budge on their stand. But
then I read the same article in another publication and this has another
demand. http://m.economictimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/bar-council-rejects-cji-r-m-lodhas-plan-to-keep-courts-open-365-days-a-year/articleshow/36135534.cms
While the BCI rejected the CJI's proposal, it decided to
make a demand to the Union government to exempt advocates from paying toll. And
what a fantastic reason to offer, -"Advocates render social service to the
community". So what next, doctors, psychologists, environment
scientist and workers- who all should we not exempt from paying toll for using
public infrastructure?
As an ordinary citizen, I feel as if I’m qualified, employed
and pay my dues in all honesty- but I feel soon to be part of a breed that will
be left without any trace in this country for not having the role of a super
human engaged in activities which were once exclusive for the colonial rulers.
What legacy we want to live under- the uncommon Indian!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment