Letter sent by Prabhakar Sinha, former President, PUCL:
By Prabhakar Sinha
To
The Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India
New Delhi
Sub: Saving courts’ time to reduce delay in disposal of cases in the High Courts and the Supreme Court
Sir,
As a layman, I am unable to judge the right or wrong of the heavy fine imposed on Suraz India Trust for wasting the time of the High Courts and the Supreme Court by unnecessarily filing PILs , but it has encouraged me to believe that you are serious about saving the precious time of the courts and would pay attention to suggestions made in this regard. I have noticed as a concerned citizen that the State is not only the most notorious litigant but also the most notorious source of the waste of time of the higher judiciary .Its numerous illegal orders passed in a cavalier manner because it has no respect for justice , the money wasted on avoidable litigations and the waste of the courts’ s precious time compel the aggrieved citizens ,including its own employees ,to approach the higher judiciary for justice .This undesirable and unacceptable conduct causes a waste of money and time of the State and the citizens as well as the courts . It further compounds its offence by its contemptuous disregard for the orders of the courts compelling the aggrieved to file contempt petitions thus causing further waste of time of the courts and a waste of money and time of the aggrieved citizens and asvwell as the State .This despicable conduct of the State does not only cause a waste of the courts’ precious time but also reflects its contempt for the orders of the courts and justice itself .This pernicious practice needs to be stopped immediately not only to save the time of the courts but to inspire due respect for the law and justice in the State as well as the people .
This can be easily done by imposing a heavy fine like 5 lac per day of the hearing of a contempt petition if the State is found to be guilty of contempt of court .The penalty would neither be unreasonable nor harsh because the disregard of the orders of the court causes the waste of the courts’ time for the second time .First , the time of the court was consumed during the hearing of the case arising from an illegal act of the State , and then it is wasted for the second time during the hearing of the contempt petition .The present practice of summoning the officials of the State or passing strictures against them has proved totally ineffective in inspring the least respect in them/the State either for the court or for its time .
I would also request you to explore ways to prevent wilful passing of illegal orders by the State which cause flooding of the courts with avoidable cases .
Yours faithfully
Prabhakar Sinha
A concerned citizen and member, PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties founded by Jaypraksh Narain,1976 during the Emergency).