IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA (EXTRAORDINARY CIVIL JURISDICTION)

(EXTRAORDINARY CIVIL JURISDICTION)

I.A. NO. _______ in W P (C) NO. ______OF 2008 

IN THE MATTER OF: Union of India

Through Secretary,

Janhit Manch & Ors VERSUS    Dept. of Justice                               

APPLICATION FOR INTERIM RELIEF UNDER PROVISIONS ANALOGOUS TO S 151, CPC  

To

The Hon'ble Chief Justice And His Companion Justices of the Supreme Court of India, New Delhi 

The applicants have filed the accompanying writ petition to seek time-bound relief to crores of Indian citizens, through prompt and effective implementation of various judicial orders and directions, in order to effectuate the fundamental and constitutional right to `speedy dispensation of justice' under Articles 21, 14, 19 and 39A.

The applicants/petitioners include non-government organizations and a citizen of India whose objectives are to resist injustice and to defend democracy.

The applicants/petitioners are aggrieved today that:

The inordinate delays in the dispensation of justice in this country deny litigants of their fundamental right to justice and its speedy dispensation,

The impact of these delays and denial of justice has steadily eroded public confidence in the judiciary and resulted in people resorting to lawlessness and violent crime to settle disputes,

Although this Court has issued directions to take specific steps to cut down on delays, such as by increasing judge strength and commensurate infrastructure, and various laws have also been enacted to cut down the misuse of procedure, yet many of them still await effective implementation.

The applicants/petitioners today seek orders/directions for implementation of past directions by this Court and of laws that have already been enacted by Parliament.

The applicants/petitioners seek leave of this Court to rely upon the contents of the accompanying writ petition as part of this application and are not repeating them for the sake of brevity.

Grounds

A. Because justice, and specifically speedy dispensation of justice, is a constitutional and fundamental right of the citizens of India meant to be guaranteed by State under Articles 21, 14, 19, 32, 226, and the Preamble of the Constitution of India, and is a constitutional obligation of State under 39A,  Because `justice delayed is justice denied' as repeatedly held by this Court, and reaffirmed in a constitution bench judgment and neither poverty nor administrative inability can allow the State to deny the citizens of their constitutional and fundamental rights,

Because timely justice is not delivered in this country, as reflected in about 3.80 crore pendencies/arrears/backlogs today and cases are dragged on for years together, preventing many citizens from ever receiving justice and constantly violating their fundamental rights,

Because the citizens of the country are losing faith in the judiciary and resort to lawless, violent and criminal means of dispute resolution,

Because this Court has the power and duty under Articles 141, 142, 144 and 145 (1)(c) to pass directions to render justice and enforce fundamental rights, and the Union is obliged to ensure compliance of such orders under Article 256 of the Constitution of India, 

Because if this Court fails to intervene and provide timely interim relief, citizens would continue to be denied of their fundamental rights with no immediate hope for improvement in the future.

PRAYER

 During the pendency of this writ petition, this Court may therefore be pleased to:

Directing/order the Respondent to implement the specific directions in the judgment in `All India Judges Association' (2002) 4 SCC 247:

By increasing the strength of the judges from 10.5 per 10 lakh population to 50 judges per 10 lakh population in 5 years,

By filling up all existing vacancies in the subordinate courts at all levels in all the States in 1 year, and

By appointing as many ad hoc judges as may be necessary to clear the backlog of cases;

By putting in place / making available the required infrastructure in order to accommodate all these judges,

Pass any other order or direction deemed fit and proper.

Drawn by:    Through 

Indira Unninayar, Advocate    Prashant Bhushan, Advocate

Date:    .03.2008           COUNSEL FOR PETITIONERS

Place: New Delhi